A 20-year-old Agra woman has alleged rape inside a car on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway by two men, who had reportedly called her to Lucknow to hand over some educational certificates against a payment.
The incident happened about four months back, but the woman said she felt difficulty in lodging an FIR with Agra police as she was told the incident had taken place at a place which fell under Lucknow police jurisdiction.
In her complaint she said, the men, who had promised ‘genuine educational certificates’ to her, reportedly filmed the assault and left her on the expressway before fleeing. She told the police that she had responded to a social media post advertising educational certificates without the need for exams.
She explained, “I reached out to Rakesh Kumar, who offered to provide the certificates for Rs 30,000 without requiring any exams. After paying Rs 15,000 to his bank account, I received a certificate through social media. Rakesh then told me to go to Lucknow on May 10 to collect the rest of the documents. When I arrived, I met Rakesh and his associate, Srinivas Verma, near the Agra-Lucknow expressway.”
In the FIR, the woman detailed how the men drove her to a secluded spot, where Srinivas reportedly raped her while Rakesh stayed outside the car. “They also filmed and photographed the assault. When I threatened to go to the police, they warned me that they would make the footage public if I did. They then left me on the expressway and fled.”
The woman stated that she tried to file a complaint at the New Agra police station shortly after the incident, but officers refused, claiming the crime fell under Lucknow’s jurisdiction.
“I repeatedly went to the Agra police station, but they refused to register my FIR,” she said. “Eventually, I traveled to Lucknow and was able to file the FIR after significant challenges. All I want is justice,” she added.
Based on the complaint, the police have registered an FIR against two individuals under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 376 (rape), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
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