Picnic turns horror! Army officers thrashed, their friend beaten and raped in Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh news: A get-together of friends for a picnic turned out to be tragic in Madhya Pradesh's Indore district after two Indian Army officers were assaulted and one of their two female companions was raped by unidentified men, PTI reported, citing the police.

The two officers, aged 23 and 24, had gone out for a picnic on Tuesday along with two female friends. According to Badgonda police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Hirore, the Indian Army officers were undergoing a Young Officers (YO) course at the Infantry School in Mhow cantonment town. The assailants held the woman officer and her companion in the car hostage at gunpoint, The Times of India reported, citing the complaint filed by one of the officers.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday. Seven unidentified men reportedly arrived near the picnic spot on Mhow-Mandleshwar road at around 2 am. They “started beating up one of the officers sitting in a car and also the women”, ANI quoted Lokendra Singh Hirore as saying.

The second officer and her friend were on a hilltop when they heard the cries. They rushed to the spot and informed their seniors about the incident. Police were informed about the incident and promptly arrived at the site where the pair was attacked. However, the miscreants fled the spot before the police could get hold of them. The police officer further informed that all four victims were taken to Mhow Civil Hospital for medical examination at around 6.30 am. Doctors reported sexual assault of one of the women and signs of injuries on the officers' bodies.

Indore Rural SP Hitika Vasal said that a case was registered under sections 70 (gangrape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and under sections of the Arms Act. He further informed that personnel from four police stations fanned out and launched a manhunt.

Six of the seven suspects, who demanded a ransom of ₹10 lakh, have been identified. “We arrested two men. Hitika Vasal added, “One of them has a case of loot registered against him in 2016,” reported The Indian Express.

(With agency inputs)