A man was shot dead and his girlfriend was gang-raped by robbers at an isolated spot towards the outskirts of India's financial capital Mumbai, late on Monday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Ganesh Dinkar, who was at a hillock in Titwala with his girlfriend. According to PTI, a few men had approached the couple and demanded cash.
When Dinkar refused to give money, the men pulled out their guns and overpowered them. The girl was then gang-raped at gunpoint.
According to the police, Dinkar was shot when he tried to help his girlfriend. As Dinkar apparently died on the spot, the attackers also chose to flee.
"When the couple was at a hillock near Kalyan at around 7:30 pm, the unidentified men approached them and demanded money. After the victim resisted the men shot and allegedly raped his friend by dragging her to a solitary place," Titwala police officer Yogesh Gurav told ANI.
An FIR has been filed and the police have launched a manhunt.
The incident happened near Kalyan in Thane district of Maharashtra. Kalyan stands on the seventh position in the list of biggest cities of Maharashtra and is the 28th biggest city in India.
Man shot dead, his friend allegedly gang-raped by unidentified persons in Titwala after the victims refused to give them money yesterday. Case registered, accused absconding #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/O2LPp6VURD
— ANI (@ANI) March 6, 2018
A similar incident was reported from Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior last year where an 11-year-old girl was raped while her mother and brother were held by the assailants at gunpoint inside their house.
The accused were nabbed by the police and booked under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Indian Penal Code.
