 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards.(April 2025) |
The 2025 Varanasi gang rape was a criminal incident that took place between 29 March and 4 April 2025, in which a 19-year-old woman was allegedly raped by 23 individuals in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
On 29 March 2025, the 19-year-old victim visited a friend at a hookah bar in the Pishach Mochan area. [1] While returning home, she encountered Raj Vishwakarma and subsequently went with him to the Lanka area of the city. [2] At a hookah bar there, Vishwakarma allegedly gave her a drug-laced drink. [1] He then took her to a hotel, where he reportedly raped her while recording the incident on video. He later threatened to circulate the footage as revenge porn. [3]
Vishwakarma subsequently brought two of his associates, Sameer Alam and Ayush Singh, to the hotel, where they allegedly gang raped the victim and confiscated her phone to prevent her from contacting anyone. [3] On 30 March, Sameer reportedly took the victim on his motorcycle to a location near a highway, where he raped her before leaving her in the Nadesar area. [2]
On 31 March, the victim came into contact with a group of six individuals—Ayush, Sohail, Danish, Anmol, Sajid, and Zahir—who took her to the Continental Café in the Sigra area. [4] There, they allegedly gave her an intoxicating drink, following which all six men reportedly took turns raping her. [2]
On 1 April, the victim met a man named Sajid, who was accompanied by another individual. [2] The two men took her to a hotel, where two or three others were already present. This group allegedly gang raped her and then instructed her to leave. [2] Outside the hotel, the victim encountered a man named Imran, who reportedly forced her to consume an intoxicant before raping her at the same hotel. [2]
On 2 April, the victim met a man identified as Raj Khan, who took her to his residence in the Hukulganj area. [2] He allegedly forced her to consume drugs and then raped her. The victim screamed during the assault, after which several individuals reportedly took her to Assi Ghat, where she was left alone in an intoxicated state. [2]
On 3 April, the victim met a man named Danish, who took her to a friend's residence. There, three other men—Sohail, Shoaib, and another unidentified individual—allegedly drugged and gang raped her. [2] She was later abandoned in the Chowkghat area. [2]
On 4 April, the victim's family filed a missing person's report. [3] Later that day, the victim returned home and informed her family about the alleged incidents. [5]
On 6 April 2025, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)—including Section 70(1) (gang rape), Section 74 (outraging modesty), Section 123 (administering poison or harmful substances), Section 126(2) (obstructing movement), Section 127(2) (wrongful confinement), and Section 351(2) (criminal intimidation)—against 12 identified and 11 unidentified individuals, based on a complaint filed by the woman's mother. [6] [7]
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Chandrakant Meena, the victim's family reported her missing only on 4 April, after she had left home on 29 March and did not return or contact any family member. He stated that the woman returned home on the same day, and neither she nor her family lodged a complaint at that time. [8] [9] Following allegations of lapses in the investigation, Meena was removed from the case after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the matter during his 50th visit to his parliamentary constituency in Varanasi. [10]
The victim was later admitted to a hospital in Varanasi with symptoms of stomach ache, weakness, and loss of appetite, and subsequently tested positive for Hepatitis B. According to medical professionals, the infection may have resulted from the injection of intoxicating substances allegedly administered by the accused during the incidents. [10]
By 16 April, the police had arrested 14 accused individuals. [11] On 17 April, Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) following claims from the families of the accused regarding inconsistencies in the woman’s complaint. In a memorandum submitted to the police, the families alleged that the woman had demanded money in exchange for omitting certain names from her statement. [12] The police also questioned why the woman failed to seek help and instead posted pictures and videos on social media, which, according to authorities, showed her "laughing and roaming around." [13]
According to Commissioner Agarwal, when the woman was initially located by authorities, she neither mentioned rape nor expressed a desire to return home. The SIT has been tasked with submitting a comprehensive report within 30 days. No arrests will be made from among the unidentified accused until the SIT report is submitted. [14] [15]
The mother of the victim requested a meeting with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, seeking justice and demanding strict punishment for the accused. [16] Modi directed officials to take the strictest possible action against those found responsible for the crime. [17]