A video circulating on social media showing a woman and her partner being brutally assaulted has brought a shocking case from Surendranagar to the attention of police. The couple were subjected to severe physical and sexual humiliation in the name of a “purification ritual”, with the man allegedly forced to perform sexual acts with the woman and drink her urine.
The incident, which took place on October 4, has led to the arrest of nine people in Surendranagar, including the woman’s husband and his relatives.
According to the complaint, what was presented to the couple as a purification ritual turned into an alleged episode of assault, confinement and humiliation.
Couple Allegedly Taken to Surendranagar for ‘Purification’
The woman was reportedly married to a man in Vapi but had left him and moved to Chotila, where she had been living with her partner for around three months.
Her family later traced her and took her back to Vapi, where she was allegedly confined inside a house. She eventually escaped and returned to Chotila to be with her partner.
After learning that she had returned, her husband allegedly informed his relatives. The couple was then reportedly traced and taken to Surendranagar on the pretext of conducting a “purification ritual”.
What happened next has become the centre of the police investigation.
Man Allegedly Tied to Tree, Woman Confined
The complaint alleges that the couple were beaten with wooden sticks after being taken to the location.
The man was allegedly tied to a tree with a rope, while the woman was confined to a room.
The alleged abuse then took a more disturbing turn. The man was allegedly forced to perform sexual acts with the woman in a verandah. He was also allegedly forced to drink the woman’s urine as part of the purported ritual.
The couple allegedly faced further physical and mental humiliation during the incident.
The entire episode was allegedly recorded on a mobile phone, and videos of the incident were later circulated on social media.
Viral Videos Alert Police
The police reportedly came to know about the incident after a community leader alerted them about a woman who had allegedly been brutally assaulted and about videos circulating online.
Several police teams were then deployed to locate the woman.
Police searched houses in the area and eventually found her inside a house. She was reportedly in a distressed condition.
After seeing the police, the woman began crying, according to information shared by the police during the investigation. Officers also matched her face with the woman seen in the circulated videos.
She was taken to the police station, where she was counselled before narrating her alleged ordeal to the police.
Nine Arrested, Investigation Into Videos Underway
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the case. The accused reportedly include the woman’s husband and his relatives.
Police are also investigating the recording and circulation of the videos. Investigators are trying to establish who recorded the alleged assault and who later circulated the footage on social media.
The case has been registered under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 70(1) relating to sexual intercourse by deceitful means, Section 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt, Section 127(3) concerning wrongful confinement, Section 142 relating to wrongfully concealing or keeping a kidnapped or abducted person, and Section 3(5) concerning acts carried out by several people with common intention.
Provisions of the Information Technology Act have also reportedly been invoked over the alleged recording and online circulation of the videos.
A ‘Ritual’ That Police Say Led to Brutal Abuse
The case has raised serious questions over how the language of a “purification ritual” was allegedly used in an incident involving violence, confinement and humiliation.
For the woman and her partner, what they were allegedly taken to Surendranagar for ended in an ordeal that was recorded and later exposed through videos circulating online.
Police are now investigating the full sequence of events, the role of each of the nine accused and the people responsible for recording and spreading the alleged assault.
