A 24-year-old woman was allegedly gangraped by three men at a public park in Vellore district on Saturday night, after she was threatened at knife point. Her 20-year-old male friend who had accompanied her was allegedly beaten up and chased away from the scene.

According to the Vellore police, the woman and her friend had entered the park at around 9.15 pm, after its closing time. The park only had a two-feet fence and police say it is common for people to loiter around after closing hours. At close to 9.30 pm, however, three men who were in the area spotted the woman and her friend and allegedly began harassing them. They used a knife to threaten the friend and force him to leave. They then allegedly raped the woman, say the police. After raping her, they took away her cellphone and jewellery.

"When the woman went back home, she told her brother that her jewellery and phone were stolen. She didn't tell them about the rape. They first went to the hospital to treat her injuries. And there she had to tell the doctors what happened. The hospital then immediately alerted the police station," says an investigating officer.

As the crime took place near the Vellore Fort, the North Vellore police were alerted.

"We took down her statement and she has said that three people were involved. One of them was between 35-45 and the other two close to 20," says the officer. "We have identified all three suspects and interrogating them. We are yet to arrest them," he adds.

For now, police have filed a case of gangrape, theft and assault. This shocking crime comes barely a month after a similar case in Coimbatore, where a minor was gangraped in a park where she had gone with a male friend to celebrate her birthday. This incident too had happened around 9pm and they were attacked by strangers who chased the boy away before raping the girl.