A deeply disturbing incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district, where a 16-year-old girl was reportedly kidnapped and gang-raped in a Janani Express Ambulance. The incident took place on November 25, under the jurisdiction of the Hanumana police station, approximately 30 kilometers from the district headquarters.
According to police reports, the girl was forcibly taken by two men and assaulted in the moving ambulance, which is part of a state government program designed to provide emergency transport for expectant mothers, infants, and families living below the poverty line in rural areas.
The police have arrested the two suspects, identified as Virendra Chaturvedi, the ambulance driver, and his accomplice Rajesh Kewat, on the night of November 28. Both men are from the Naigarhi tehsil in Mauganj, situated about 50 kilometers from the site of the crime.
Following the girl’s report, which included details of the gang rape, a medical examination confirmed her account. Mauganj Superintendent of Police, Sarna Thakur, stated that a search was promptly initiated, leading to the arrests.
This incident follows another horrific case from October 21, when a newly married woman was gang-raped by a group of men in the nearby Rewa district while on a picnic with her husband. In that case, eight individuals were arrested. Mauganj, established as a separate district from Rewa in 2023, encompasses three tehsils: Mauganj, Naigarhi, and Hanumana. Further information on the recent case is still pending.