Four men arrested for raping a 20-year-old college student were paraded through the streets of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh by police.

While being paraded by the police, onlookers especially women indulged in slapped and thrashed the accused with sticks.

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Of late, police in Madhya Pradesh have taken to parading habitual eve-teasers or those accused of sexual offences through streets, as a measure of deterrence after the government came under fire for increase in crime against women.

The accused were caught after the rape survivor lodged the complaint with the Maharana Pratap (MP) Nagar Police Station on Sunday. The alleged incident took place on Saturday.

All the four accused were arrested within an hour of the complaint, Deputy Inspector General of Police Dharmendra Choudhary said.

The DIG said that one of the accused Shailendra Dangi (21), who knew the rape survivor, called her to a restaurant in the MP Nagar locality on Saturday.

According to her complaint, after she met him, they had a fight over some issue.

Shailendra snatched her cell phone and took her to his friend Sonu Dangi’s room near Apsara cinema, she told police.

Sonu Dangi (21), Dhiraj Rajput (26) and Chiman Rajput (25) were already present in the room, according to the complaint.

Shailendra and Dhiraj threatened to kill her and her family, and raped her, while Sonu and Chiman helped the duo, she told police.

Afterwards they let her go, but warned not to disclose the incident to anyone, she said.

All were booked for gang-rape as they were supposed to have acted with a common intention, additional superintendent of police Vikas Kumar Sahwal said. IPC sections 376 (rape), 376 (d) (gang-rape) and 365 (kidnapping) were pressed against them.

The accused confessed to the crime, DIG Choudhary said, adding that further probe is on.

(With agency inputs)