A TEENAGE girl was kidnapped and repeatedly gang-raped over a 22-day period after she ran away from home.
The 17-year-old was snatched after she had left home following an argument with her parents in Cuttack, India.
She was waiting for a bus in the city when the suspect, Santosh Behera, is alleged to have offered her a lift home on his motorbike.
The girl agreed, but Behera then allegedly drove her to a remote poultry farm where he locked her in a room.
NDTV reports the abuse then started and she was allegedly repeatedly raped by Behera and Rakesh Rout.
The teen was held of 22 days until police raided the farm after being tipped off about "illegal activities" by locals.
Both men have since been arrested after cops launched massive manhunt to track them down.
The men are also alleged to have recorded the attacks on a mobile phone and threatened the girl not to tell anyone about her ordeal.
Both suspects have been accused of rape and gang rape.
The rescued girl and has seen been taken to live in an orphanage after meeting with social services.
Indian authorities described her as in a poor physical date and psychologically scarred by her kidnapping.
She had initially run away from home after a row with her dad, and went to live with her sister before being abducted by the men.
Opposition politician Lekhashree Samantsinghar accused the government of failing to ensure the safety and security of women after the teen's ordeal.
Congress spokesperson Nishikant Mishra said the girl's family should be given £2,257 in support funds.
India is one of the world's most dangerous places for women, with a rape occurring every 15 minutes on average – according to government data.
Some 90 rapes a day were reported in India every day last year, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Large numbers are also feared to go unreported as women do not feel like they can go to the authorities.
Rape and sexual violence has been under the spotlight in India since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman in Delhi.
Public outrage over her death led to legislators passing tough new laws against sexual violence, including the death penalty for rape in some cases.
Prison sentences for rapists were doubled to 20 years as well as well as criminalising voyeurism, stalking and trafficking of women.
Indian MPs also voted to lower the age at which a person can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes to 16 from 18.
2020 has already seen a string of horrifying attacks on women in India as protesters have taken to the streets demanding action.
Just this week a woman was gang raped by seven men after they strangled her five-year-old son to death in Buxar.
Two men were also arrested after a woman died after she was raped – with her legs and ribs left broken after the attack.
And at the end of last month, a 20-year-old woman was left paralysed and later died after being gang-raped by four men in Hathras.
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