Four men in their early 20s — young professionals and students — were arrested early on Saturday for the alleged gang rape of a woman in a Vedic Village bungalow.
A senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said the men were arrested on gang rape charges after the woman lodged a complaint with Rajarhat police station on Friday night.
According to the complaint, the woman had been invited to a party by one of her female friends who knew a man who had booked the bungalow to celebrate his birthday with his group of friends at Vedic Village on Thursday night.
The arrested group includes a 23-year-old who works for a top accounting firm in Sector V, a student who is pursuing an undergraduate course in commerce from a New Town institution, a chartered accountant aspirant and another who is interning with an Internet-based platform that streams OTT content, the officer said.
“The incident has taken place inside a bungalow on the premises of Vedic Village that the group rented,” said Gaurav Sharma, Bidhannagar police commissioner.
“We have collected footage from CCTV cameras installed near the bungalow and the resort’s entry and exit gates.”
In the complaint, the woman has said that the party had more than 10 people, including women. Her woman friend who invited her was also present in the bungalow. The four men raped her in turns after spiking one of her drinks, the officer said quoting the complaint.
The woman felt unwell after having a few drinks, the officer said. “The woman in her complaint mentioned that she suspects that her drinks had been spiked and when she woke up the next morning she realised that she had been raped.”
The woman left the Rajarhat resort and then lodged the complaint at the Rajarhat police station Friday night. “She told us she was traumatised and took time to gather herself,” the officer said.
“We have collected documents pertaining to the ownership of the bungalow. We are probing on what terms the place had been rented out for a single night to the group,” another officer said.
Many bungalows inside Vedic Village are allegedly let out to large groups to organise parties or as weekend getaways. These bungalows are not part of the Vedic Village Spa Resort and are privately owned properties.
The arrested four have been charged under various IPC sections, including 376D (gang rape). If convicted, they can be sent to life imprisonment.
Later on Saturday, the four were produced at a Barasat court and sent to seven days’ police custody.