Varanasi:
In yet another horrific incident of sexual violence in Uttar Pradesh, a mentally challenged woman was allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped by two people in Varanasi.
The woman was allegedly kidnapped from the Manduadih Railway Station in the temple town by an auto driver and his accomplice, the police said, adding, they drove the woman to a secluded place and then allegedly took turns to rape her.
A local person, allegedly on hearing the cries of the woman, intercepted the duo and rescued her. She has been admitted to a government hospital in the city.
The police said both the accused have been arrested. The cops are, however, waiting for medical test reports to confirm rape.
The case is the latest in a string of horrific rapes and murders in Uttar Pradesh whose chief minister, Akhilesh Yadav, is under growing political pressure over his handling of law and order.
Last month, two young girls, aged 14 and 15, were found hanging from a tree after being raped in the state's Badaun district, about 600 kilometres away from Varanasi. The case, which was reported internationally, exposed the vulnerability of women in Uttar Pradesh.
Today, just a two-hour drive away from Badaun in Moradabad, another teen was found hanging from a tree. The 16-year-old's family alleges she was raped and murdered after she went missing last evening.
Just yesterday, a 45-year-old woman was found hanged from a tree near the Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh. Police have opened a murder investigation and await the findings of a post-mortem to determine whether the victim was raped before her death.