Man held for attempt to rape woman in Pilibhit

Pilibhit: A 24-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly attempting to rape a 22-year-old woman while she was returning home on the evening of Feb 18. Police said the accused is a resident of the same village as that of the survivor and allegedly stalked her and dragged her into a sugarcane field.The survivor's sister-in-law, who was accompanying her, tried to intervene but was beaten by the accused, police said. When the survivor raised an alarm, passers-by rushed to the spot and rescued her, following which the accused fled.The survivor later informed her husband about the incident. She alleged that when they went to the police station to register an FIR, the accused, along with his three brothers and a relative, attacked them. "Although the incident took place in Feb, we could not approach the police earlier due to threats from the man and his relatives. They warned us of serious consequences if we approached the police," the survivor said.Bisalpur Kotwali SHO Sanjeev Kumar Shukla said, "The main accused and four of his relatives have been were charged under BNS sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 191(2) (rioting), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation)."