NEW DELHI, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- A 30-year-old woman in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh was allegedly gang-raped by four men on gunpoint in front of her husband and their three-month-old infant, the police said Saturday.
The woman told police she was raped near Nirgajni village in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, northwest of Lucknow city, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.
"The accused persons according to victim took turns to rape her and held the child hostage, besides threatening to kill it," a police official posted in Muzaffarnagar said.
"The woman and her husband were returning after visiting a pediatrician yesterday with their three-month-old child on a motorbike, when the four men in a car intercepted and waylaid them off the road."
Police officials said they were yet to identify the accused.
The victim told media the four persons carrying weapons stopped them and snatched the baby from her, besides beating up her husband.
"Four men dragged me to a sugar cane farm and raped me," the victim said. "They constantly threatened to kill my child and roughed up my husband."
The four men according to the couple warned the couple against raising an alarm and fled from the spot in car.
Reports said following the ordeal the family screamed for help and a few local residents from a nearby village rushed to rescue them by taking them to police station.
Both the husband and the wife were later removed to hospital for treatment and medical examination, police said.
"We have registered a case and are waiting for medical report of the victim," Ajay Sahdev, a senior police official at Muzaffarnagar told media. "Investigations are underway to nab the culprits."
Sexual attacks on women and girls in India puts a question mark on their safety and efficiency of police force in the country.
In December 2002 a fatal gang-rape of a medical student in New Delhi brought spotlight on crimes against women in India.
The incident saw huge protests and resulted in new anti-rape laws in the country. However, brutal sexual attacks against women continue to be reported across India.
