A 20-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly gang-raped by four men in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district after she went out with her fiancé, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place near a hill close to Kathoutha village under the Churhat police station area.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arvind Srivastava, the couple had parked their motorcycle by the roadside and gone to a nearby hill when four men spotted them. The accused attacked the woman’s fiancé and chased him away. After that, they took turns raping the woman.

The woman later managed to escape and contacted her fiancé. The two then went to the Semaria police station and reported the incident. Police immediately filed a case based on their complaint and sent them for medical treatment at the Semaria community health centre.

So far, three of the four accused have been arrested, and five police teams have been formed to catch the fourth accused, who is on the run.The incident has sparked political outrage, with Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari calling it a shameful act that shows the poor state of law and order in the state. 

He claimed that in the last three years, over 7,400 cases of rape involving Dalit and tribal women have been reported, along with hundreds of gang-rapes and murders. Patwari blamed the BJP government for failing to control crime and provide justice to victims. The investigation is ongoing, and police say they are working to arrest the remaining accused as soon as possible.