Two young Army officers and their female friends were on a night drive when things got preposterously worse, as they were attacked by a gang of men who gang-raped one of the women at gunpoint. This happened near the Jam Gate, 50km from Indore, in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday.

Additional SP Rupesh Dwivedi made the reassuring statement on Wednesday night that six suspects had been identified, two of whom have been detained from the jungles.

The two army officers were badly injured because of the mob attack. One of them was able to call his senior officers. Unfortunately, by the time police arrived from Mhow, 30km away, the woman had already been gang-raped.

The two Army men are students of the Young Officers course at Infantry School, Mhow, SP Rural Hitika Vasal said.

With reference to the complaint filed by one of the lieutenants, the group of four friends had driven to Ahilya Gate near Jam Gate on Mhow-Mandleshwar road on Tuesday night.

At about 2.30am, when one officer and one female friend were in the car, they were attacked by 6-7 armed men. The other pair was atop a nearby hillock then and rushed down on hearing the confrontation.

The complaint says that the attackers held the pair they had attacked in the car hostage at gunpoint.

They asked the other officer to bring Rs 10 lakh in ransom. This gave the officer who was accompanied by the other woman a chance to inform his seniors at Mhow, who in turn alerted police.

A large police force was dispatched to the spot but the attackers had escaped into the forest by then. All four of them were brought to Mhow Civil Hospital around 6.30am where a medical examination confirmed one of the women had been gang-raped. As per the duty doctor, there were injuries on both officers’ bodies. “The complainant has alleged that the woman who was with him was raped, and they were looted as well,” SP Vasal said.

Badgonda police registered a case under BNS sections 70 (gang-rape), 310-2 (dacoity), 308-2 (extortion) and 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), plus sections of Arms Act.

Forces from four police stations combed the jungles near Chhoti Jaam village and picked up two suspects.