Three men have been arrested in India over the murder of a mother who accused two boys of gang-raping her deaf and mute teenage daughter.
The 50-year-old mother, who has not been named, was working in a field in Jharkhand, when the fathers of the two 14-year-old boys allegedly hacked her to death with the help of a relative.
Cops believe the murder was a brutal act of revenge after she confided in police following the alleged rape of her 19-year-old daughter.
'The motive appears to be revenge for the police action initiated against the sons and the land dispute with the victim,' local police reported, adding that they had recovered a weapon.
Two fourteen-year-old boys are suspected of having broken the lock to the woman's home in Gumla village while she was asleep one night last month, before distracting her in order to kidnap her deaf-mute daughter.
They then dragged her to a school building and raped her, according to the investigating officer.
Stock image. A woman was allegedly dragged from her home and raped after two boys broke the lock and forced their way in, in Jharkhand, India, last month
The arrests were reported on Monday, a day after the brutal attack in Jharkhand.
The suspects include the two fathers of the two boys suspected of the rape attack and a third who allegedly had a long-standing dispute with her.
Advertisement An investigating officer said the woman had been asleep in her home with her daughter on March 13, while her eldest daughter attended a wedding function.
The two boys allegedly broke the lock to gain entry to the house, and told the mother to go and check on her eldest, who was 'up to something indecent' at the party.
Investigators believe they dragged her other daughter from the home after she left, taking her to a school building before attacking her.
The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her right to privacy.
A complaint has been registered and an investigation launched.
Two minors are currently being held in an observation home, the Times of India reported.
In March, a 28-year-old Spanish tourist and travel influencer said she was robbed and gang-raped in Dumka, Jharkhand.
Fernanda, 28, and Vicente, 63, who were making their way to Nepal from India on separate motorcycles, were reportedly attacked by a group of seven after setting up camp in a makeshift tent in the district.
Vicente said his 'mouth was destroyed' when his attackers used a helmet and a stone to beat him.
Fernanda, who was seen with visible bruises on her face, said: 'They thrashed us and robbed us, but their main aim was to rape me.'
She added that they had approached the police for help, but later said that she was made to take down the video from her page so as not to 'disturb' the police's investigation.
Fernanda told a Spanish broadcaster that the attack lasted for two hours, and each of the men 'took turns.'
'They raped me, they took turns while some watched and they stayed like that for about two hours,' she said last month.
According to The Telegraph, the couple were given just £9,500 as compensation for their troubles by Indian authorities.
Fernanda said she thought she and her partner were 'going to die' in the attack in March
Three men arrested for the alleged gang rape of a Spanish tourist are brought by police to be produced before the Dumka District Court in Dumka, Jharkhand, India, Monday, March 4
In April 2023, a 10-year-old girl was found dead in Jharkhand after a suspected gang-rape.
Police said the body was found in the backyard of the girl's house in Jharkhand's Latehar district.
Chandwa police inspector Amit Gupta said the girl was last seen at a neighbour's house where a crowd had gathered following a snake sighting.
The girl was only discovered the next morning in a 'semi-naked state'.
'Injury marks were also found on her body,' he said. 'Prima facie it seems that the girl was raped by a gang before being murdered.'
