The police booked two other women were also part of the NGO (Representative Image). |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

Ahmedabad: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly raped and confined to a room for over one year at an ashram in Gujarat. Three persons were arrested over their involvement in the incident and soon after, the police also arrested three other people who allegedly blackmailed the rape accused.

Three men, identified as Raghuram Bhagat, Jagdish Bhagat and Bhavesh Bhagat were nabbed for raping the woman on multiple occasions and confining her to a room in Sat Devidas Ashram in Amreli for one-and-a-half years.

Days later, the cops arrested- Pravin Rathod, Ramesh Maru and Jigyesh Manvar for attempting to extort money from the rape accused using a video of the survivor and for defaming her. Pravin, Ramesh and Jigyesh claimed to be members of an NGO. The police also booked two other women were also part of the NGO. An investigation revealed that the NGO was unregistered.

On June 20, a rape case was filed by the Damnagar police. During the investigation, the police identified the accused who claimed to be 'Sadhu Bhagat' or devotees of a sadhu. The three men told the police that they were members one of Swami Narayan's sects and stayed in Sat Devidas Ashram in Amreli.

As per the police complaint, the three accused brought the woman from Botad to Amreli for labour work. Following this, the accused raped her on multiple occasions. The accused also threatened to frame the survivor in a theft case, warning her against sharing the incident with anyone, The Indian Express reported.

After the accused were arrested, three persons claiming to be members of an unregistered NGO approached the woman and offered to help her. The three NGO workers recorded a video of the woman and uploaded it on social media without her permission. After uploading the video, the three men asked the rape accused to pay Rs 45 lakh.

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The accused arrested the three NGO workers and also booked two other women in relation to the case. The five persons were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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Woman raped, confined for over 1 year in Gujarat ashram; accused blackmailed by 'NGO workers' - Times Now