In a bid to bring “shame” to her for "getting raped", a 16-year-old victim was tied to her alleged rapist and forced to walk with him in the tribal-dominated Alirajpur district of India's Madhya Pradesh state.
While the salwar kurta-clad victim walked with her head down in shame, a mob surrounding her kept chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” (Long Live Mother India) – a video of which has gone viral on social media.
The victim's family members physically assaulted her and were allegedly involved in making her walk with her rapist. Both the girl and her alleged rapist were tied together with a thick jute rope.
The names of both remain undisclosed.
The incident, which happened over the weekend, has left Indians in shock and disbelief. Many replied to the “nationalist slogan chanters” from the video with “this is not my India” comments.
Revealing details to the media, police inspector Dilip Singh Bilwal said that the incident has resulted in the filing of two official complaints.
"One of the cases was filed against the 21-year-old man who is accused of rape. Another FIR (first information report) was filed against the family members of the girl and villagers for parading her through the village and beating her," Press Trust of India quoted Bilwal as saying.
A total of six people have been arrested in connection with this incident so far. The investigation is still underway.