http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2819325.stm
Calcutta police on rape charges
By Parth Mukherjee BBC correspondent in Calcutta
Calcutta police have formally charged three police officers from the same
force with raping a deaf and mute woman while she was in their custody.
Many women in Calcutta live in extreme poverty The three constables, Satish
Chandra Mahato, Pradip Chandra Das and Asoke De, appeared at a special
court on Tuesday. The police bringing the charges filed what they described
as evidence of a rape which they say happened 18 months ago. A police
official told the court that the three constables raped the 20-year old
woman while guarding her in a prison van in a hospital area.
Sleeping rough
The alleged victim was waiting for a medical test connected to an earlier
charge of rape. Police say the woman, who was sleeping on the pavements in
south Calcutta, had allegedly been raped by several men. Following the
allegations, the police arrested four local men and a court ordered medical
tests for both the woman and the accused men. While she was waiting at the
hospital for her medical test, police say the three constables raped her in
a prison van. After the incident, the woman was found unconscious. Visitors
to the hospital took her to the emergency ward where the doctor registered
the incident as a rape case.
