The allegation by a Dalit woman about the sexual exploitation she had faced for a year in the form of gang-rape, blackmail, physical abuse and harassment came to light in Anantapur district on August 15.
The victim, a middle-aged woman, who had walked out of her marriage, hails Kalyandurg mandal. She lodged a complaint with Superintendent of Police K. Srinivasa Rao, alleging that her pleas to the local police remained unattended.
In her complaint, the woman alleged that five men, reportedly owing their allegiance to the YSR Congress party (YSRCP), had gang-raped her and recorded a video of the incident. She alleged that the culprits continued to harass her for a year, threatening that they would make the video public if she told anybody about it.
The woman further alleged that the culprits shared the video with their friend Boya Hari, who also allegedly raped her. Recently when Hari came to her, she raised an alarm and the neighbours thrashed him before handing him over to the police.
The SP told the media that the Kalyandurg police had registered a case. With social groups and women’s organisations condemning the incident, the Police Department launched a probe with the Deputy Superintendent of Police as the investigating officer.