Bihar Gang Rape Survivor Thrown Off Roof, Critically Injured

A 30-year-old married woman, who was allegedly gang raped by five men in Bihar’s Begusarai district in June, was thrown off the roof of her house on Monday night. She suffered critical injuries, including to her head, after falling from a height of about 12-15 feet. Her family said she was first taken to a local health centre and later shifted to a hospital in the city.

Following the attack, a fresh first information report (FIR) was filed against two accused on the basis of the woman’s statement. One suspect, identified as Bhongal Kumar alias Bhongal Mahto, has been arrested, while a search is on for the second accused.

What The Family Alleges

According to the family, two men entered their house on Monday, took the woman to the terrace and threw her off the roof. They allege the attack was part of a sustained effort to force her to withdraw the gang rape case filed in June.

The family said they had been threatened and put under immense pressure to reach a “compromise”. Three months after the gang rape, some people had allegedly entered their house and tried to assault the woman again. The family allege that they approached the police over the incident but their complaints of intimidation and pressure were not heard.

The June Gang Rape Case

According to her June complaint, the woman stepped out of her house at around 11.30 pm to relieve herself when five men attacked her. They allegedly locked her husband inside a room, then restrained and gagged her. She was dragged to an isolated spot, where all five men allegedly raped and assaulted her, before she was abandoned near her home.

The brutality of the assault emerged during her medical treatment. She had complained of severe pain, and doctors recovered what police described as a “cartridge-like object”, along with a stone and a piece of wood, from her private parts. She needed further examination and treatment.

Police initially registered a gang rape case and named five accused of which four have now been arrested while the fifth is on the run.

Political Reaction

The case has now drawn a political response with Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav attacking the Bihar government over women’s safety and the law-and-order situation. He questioned how a woman who had already reported a serious sexual assault could face repeated threats and another attack.