Woman gang-raped in ’18 protests outside DC’s house, demands arms licence for kin

Gurgaon: A 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped by three men in 2018 has been protesting outside the Rewari deputy commissioner’s residence for the last ten days, demanding that the authorities sanction an arms licence for her family’s safety and allot an accommodation outside their village in the district.
“We have been raising the demand for an arms license for a long time, but there has been little success,” her mother said. Her family has been protesting with her.
In 2018, the woman, then 19, was on her way to a coaching class when three men, including a neighbour, abducted her, took her to the fields and raped her. The three accused were convicted for gang rape and awarded 20-years rigorous imprisonment in 2021.
On Monday, the woman’s family said they were more afraid about their safety as one of the convicts was out on parole earlier in the month. “We have been told by the villagers that he has been planning to kill the family. We are really scared,” the woman’ mother said. The Kosli police station SHO confirmed that one of the convicts was given permission to attend his brother’s wedding from May 14 to 19. “He is back in jail. We have not received any complaints about threats to the family,” Sumair Singh said.
The woman’s family home in the village was given police security for the last three years, with three PSOs stationed there daily.
When asked about the accusations, Rewari DC Ashok Garg said the family’s demand for an arms licence was in the process. “It has been 15 days since I took charge as DC. Their request for an arms license was rejected last year but I have again pushed for it. Hopefully, it will be resolved soon,” he said.
On accommodation, the DC said the family had been offered a place to stay two times but they rejected it. “First, there is no rule to provide an accommodation, but still we offered one government accommodation on compassionate grounds. That was refused by the family. After that, another accommodation was offered, but the family said they want a permanent house. That’s where we’ve reached a stalemate. We can give the accommodation for some time, but not permanently,” he said.