Aurobindo Ashram girl gangraped, two arrested

Puducherry: A 39-year old woman evicted recently from the Aurobindo Ashram here with her five sisters was allegedly gangraped by two men after she was washed ashore on December 18 in a failed suicide bid with her three sisters and her father.

Police said the two persons were arrested yesterday at nearby Pillaichavady village.

Superintendent of Police N Ravikumar told reporters here today that the woman had filed a complaint with police alleging that she was gangraped by two persons and that they had robbed her of her rings.

He said a special team began investigations and apprehended the duo at Pillachavady. They confessed to having committed the crime and robbing her, he said, adding the stolen rings were recovered.

The SP said the two were produced before a local court and remanded to 15 days judicial custody.

The five sisters from Bihar were evicted on Dec 17 on a Supreme Court order. The next day two of them and their mother allegedly committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

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The other three sisters and their father, who also jumped into the sea at Kalapet on the Puducherry-Markanam route, were rescued by local fishermen and are undergoing treatment in the Government General Hospital here.

The dispute between the sisters and the Ashram Trust dates to 2002 when the ashram took disciplinary action against one of them for misconduct after an inquiry by a retired District Judge appointed by Madras High Court.

The Apex Court on Dec 9 directed them to vacate the ashram within a week failing which police should evict them.