Police in the south Indian city of Bengaluru said they arrested five Bangladeshis - four men and a woman - for allegedly raping and torturing a woman who they also believed to be from Bangladesh.
The gang had recorded the incident and shared the clip with their friends in Assam, the Hindustan Times reported. The incident took place in Bengaluru almost six days ago.
As the video was widely circulated, the Assam Police shared images of the accused on Twitter seeking information.
The accused were arrested from a rented house in Ramamurthy Nagar. Another woman, suspected to be involved in the crime, is currently absconding.
Indian newspaper The Hindu reported that the perpetrators have been identified as Sagar, Mohammed Baba Sheikh, Ridoy Babu and Hakeel. The identity of the female perpetrator could not be confirmed.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said, “A case of rape and sexual assault has been filed against the six accused.”
“The survivor and the accused are all part of the same group and believed to be from Bangladesh,” Pant added.
The woman, who is reportedly 22 years old, was brought to India for human trafficking. The commissioner said she was tortured due to a “financial matter.”
The police have deputed teams to trace the survivor, who is currently in another state.
“Our initial probe has revealed that the gang brought her illegally into the country by promising her a job,” a senior officer told The Hindu.
“Instead, they forced her into prostitution. She was able to escape but they hunted her down. When they found her, they tortured her brutally and violated her before circulating the video.”
However, police said that around on Friday those arrested were taken to the location of the crime to reconstruct the scene but two of them tried to flee and were shot at, reported NDTV. Sharanappa SD, deputy commissioner of police (Bengaluru East) said the injured are in the hospital.
