Police arrested four people for their alleged involvement in gang-raping a 17-year-old girl in Kanchanrup Municipality of Saptari. Three were detained on Monday while the fourth was held on Tuesday, said police.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Dipak Kumar Raya, the suspects barged into the victim’s room on Friday night, took her out of the house and committed the crime. The accused, as the victim told investigation officers, took her to an empty house in the village and raped her in turn.

The incident came to light after the girl lodged a complaint at the Area Police Office in Kanchanrup on Monday.

The preliminary police investigation shows that the girl’s friend had come to meet her late Friday evening. The accused men then entered her room and took photos of the girl and her friend and threatened to disclose the photos to their relatives and neighbours. The victim told the police that the suspects locked her friend inside the house before taking her to the empty house.

According to Raya, the suspects also assaulted the victim and left her in her house after committing the crime. The victim said the perpetrators threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident.

The victim comes from a poor family who eke out a living as daily wage workers. Her father had gone to Janakpur, the provincial headquarters of Madhesh, for work when the incident occurred.

The accused allegedly locked the girl’s mother and sister in another room.

Police presented the accused to the district court on Tuesday. “Detailed investigation is underway into the incident after the court remanded them into custody,” said Raya.