Unfortunately, it seems even ashrams cannot be considered safe after a 27-year-old woman employee from north India was declared to have been raped in her makeshift home on an estate which is supposedly part of the Art of Living campus on April 28.
Furthermore, the culprit, who broke into her house through the asbestos roof, locked her husband and child inside before dragging the victim outside. While one of the accused remained near the house, the other man was declared to have taken her a good distance through the estate and proceeded to rape her. The victim, who resisted, was assaulted by bricks and severely beaten up. She managed to escape before her assailant could kill her. The victim is currently recovering at a clinic on the ashram premises.
The incident occurred post-midnight at Indira Estate, situated adjacent to Vaderahalli, Kengeri. The victim and her husband, who are natives of Raipur in Chattisgarh, started working at the farmhouse about a month ago. The couple have three children, two of whom are in Raipur with relatives. Around 11.30 pm on April 28, the couple heard a knock at their door but ignored it. A few minutes later their window was smashed from the outside, but the culprits were unable to gain entry into the house. In a desperate attempt, the accused climbed atop the house, broke the asbestos roofing, and forced their way inside.
One man forcibly pulled the victim outside, while the other locked the father and son in the house and stood guard. The man who took the victim with him tried to rape her, but she managed to overpower him. Being in rage, he attacked her with a brick, injured her; and then raped her.
In the intervening time, the man who was standing outside the house ran away. After being raped, the victim managed to escape from her attacker who might have otherwise killed her. Shouting for help, the farmhouse employees came to her rescue, and the victim and her husband went to the ashram authorities next door to report the matter. She was shifted immediately to the clinic on the ashram premises for treatment, since the nearest hospital is 9 km away. The local police were informed about the incident in the very early hours of the morning and recorded the victim’s and her husband’s statements in front of the ashram authorities and medical practitioners.
The matter has reached the office of Ramanagaram’s SP, who has formed a special team to solve the case. The woman described her assailants as 25-30-year old Kannada-speaking men while her complaint was translated from Hindi to Kannada by a teacher at the Ashram, and she has made a statement saying the men are both unknown to her family.
Now, rape has become a childs play!
(AW:Samrat Biswas)
