Language barrier added to ordeal

Having done so over the last month they chose a spot they thought was safe,It did not matter to them that it was way off the main road and did not bother to inform the police.

Around 8.45 pm,the men armed with sticks and a 12 bore gun struck,overpowered the man and beat him up into submission. While two held him at gun point,the four raped the woman. “The man first gave Rs 200 to Rs 400 thinking they were after money and would go away. They took the money,other valuables and also raped his wife,’’ Prof Ratan Suryavanshi of Government PG College,Datia,told The Indian Express.

The couple’s ordeal did not end with rape and loot. They somehow came to the main street but could not explain to the passersby what had happened. Someone eventually offered them a lift to the Civil Lines Police Station. Even there no one could understand what she went through. The husband wrote a report in English but the cops were clueless till they sent a messenger to bring Suryavanshi to the police station.

Suryavanshi,who is a volunteer for the state human rights commission,translated for the cops what the distraught couple went through. Though hectic activity followed,much time was lost. “She was very scared but somehow managed to hold herself together,’’ he said.

The hospital in Datia did not have a woman doctor on duty and the couple had to be taken to Gwalior,75 km away,at night before she was examined and rape confirmed. The couple did not want to stay back and though offered help and facilities chose to go to Delhi for treatment.