DHAKA: As Mumbai reels over the gang-rape of a young photographer in the heart of the city last week, angry neighbours of the arrested suspects describe a gang of jobless youths known for petty theft and drinking.

The five men are accused of repeatedly raping the 22-year-old woman and attacking her male colleague in an abandoned mill compound in central Mumbai, which was known as a haven for drink and drug addicts.

While smart neighbourhoods of luxury apartments, office blocks and malls are close to the scene of the crime, most of the accused gang members hailed from nearby slums where they earned themselves an unfavourable reputation.

‘They were local criminals,’ said Ajit Pevekar, a 32-year-old neighbour and community worker, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1714 HRS, AUG 27, 2013
RoR/RK