Widow 'brutally attacked and gang raped by armed men who had broken into her home'

A 40-year-old tribal widow in India was allegedly gang-raped and brutally assaulted when seven armed men broke into her house on Friday night in search of silver. Villagers and social organisations staged a sit-in outside Bori police station in Alijapur, a small village in India, to protest against police and demand immediate arrest of all perpetrators. Police arrested four suspects, while multiple specialised police teams continue to conduct raids to locate the rest of the accused.

The protesters were shouting slogans against police and administration and threatened authorities with a blockade if the remaining suspects are not arrested. The district administration deployed additional police force in response to the protest. The case drew attention from major politicians in India who visited the widow’s family and directed police to enforce zero-tolerance protocols against the accused.

In another recent case, cops arrested three men for the alleged gang rape and molestation of a woman, 22, in Kolkata, the Indian state of West Bengal. The arrests were made on Sunday after the victim managed to escape and reported the ordeal to police.

India has struggled for years to tackle high rates of violence against women, with numerous rape cases capturing global attention, CNN reports. Despite some changes in laws, victims and campaigners are saying the government is still not doing enough to protect women and punish attackers.

The latest crime statistics from the government showed India recorded a total of 29,536 rape cases in 2024, though activists say assaults are widely underreported. They say deeper structural problems make the issue more difficult to shake, with the Indian society being deeply patriarchal in some cases.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Gender Gap Report, India ranks 131st out of 148 countries in terms of the opportunities it provides to women.