MP woman raped after husband 'sells' her to friend to pay off debt

A man allegedly "sold" his wife to pay off a debt of Rs 50,000 to a friend, who later raped her in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, police said on Tuesday.

Based on a complaint, a case was registered at the women's police station in Indore. However, considering the seriousness of the offence, the police registered it as a 'zero' FIR and sent it to the Dhar police for action.

According to the police, the woman's husband is a resident of the Kanwan police station area, around 35 km from Dhar district headquarters, while his wife lived in Indore.

A 'zero' FIR is registered by any police station, regardless of jurisdiction, when it receives a complaint regarding a cognisable offence.

Kanwan police station in-charge Abhay Neema said the woman alleged that her husband was a gambler, and his debt kept increasing because of the habit.

He said the woman, in her complaint, alleged that her debt-ridden husband forced her to have physical relations with one of his friends who had loaned him money.

A search has been launched for both men who are absconding, he said.

According to the complaint, when the husband was unable to repay the debt, he made a deal with a friend and forced his wife to have a physical relationship with him to repay his debt.

Additional superintendent of police (ASP) of Dhar, Geetesh Kumar Garg, said, "The matter is being investigated. The victim's statement will be recorded in Indore."