Ahmedabad: Nine people have been arrested in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district after a married woman was allegedly stripped, tied up and sexually assaulted during a purported “shuddhikaran” (purification) ritual, the police said.
The case came to light after a community member informed the police about the video on Monday. Officers then began searching for the woman, whose identity was not known to them at first. The case has been registered at the Surendranagar City A Division police station. A settlement was later reached between her family and members of the community, after which she returned to her husband. She later escaped and went back to the man.
Surendranagar Superintendent of Police Premsukh Delu said Assistant Superintendent of Police Vedika Dihani and her team made inquiries in the area and eventually traced the woman to her house. The nine accused are residents of Dudhrej village in Surendranagar, the police said. The woman is from Vapi and had earlier left her husband and gone to Chotila with another man, according to the police. The police said her husband allegedly kept her tied up after she returned.
The woman’s husband and other family and community members subsequently traced the couple and took them to a place in Surendranagar for the “shuddhikaran” ritual.
