The group of men who allegedly assaulted two Army officers and raped one of their two women friends near Mhow in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday had threatened to kill them if they did not pay them Rs 10 lakh, officers investigating the case have told The Indian Express.

The woman, who was allegedly raped, has refused to record her statement, the police said.

The FIR has been filed based on a complaint by one of the Army officers, who stated, “They misbehaved with the woman, and I suspect something wrong was done to her.”

“She only keeps telling us one thing – shoot the accused or shoot me. We understand she is in shock. We are trying our best to arrest the men who did this,” said a senior officer who tried multiple times to convince the woman to record her statement.

“She is not comfortable registering her statement. We will wait until she recovers. We have arrested three persons – Anil, Pawan and Ritesh. Ritesh was acquitted in a murder case in 2019. The remaining three accused will be arrested soon,” Indore Rural Superintendent of Police Hitika Vasal told the newspaper.

According to the FIR, the Army officers along with their two women friends went to the Army’s firing range near Jam Gate at 11 pm. They were sitting at an isolated spot when around 2.30 am seven to eight unknown individuals attacked them with sticks and rods, they said.

“When we asked them what they wanted, one of them said, ‘We need Rs 10 lakh, or we will kill you.’ One person had a pistol, and all the assailants had their faces uncovered – they appeared to be between 20 and 35 years old,” the FIR stated.

According to police records, the three arrested men have been involved in several cases in the past.

State prosecutor Mahendra Singh Munjalde told the newspaper that Anil and Pawan have been sent to five-day police custody. “The victim’s purse had been looted, and we wanted their custody to trace it.”

The ruling BJP government is under fire over the law and order situation in the state.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said, “Law and order in BJP-ruled states is almost non-existent – and, the negative attitude of the BJP government towards the day-by-day increasing crimes against women is extremely worrying.”

“This audacity of the criminals is a result of the total failure of the administration and the unsafe environment prevailing in the country. Due to this, there is restriction on the freedom and aspirations of the daughters of India,” he said.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav defended the police and said, “On the basis of our strict action, some accused have been arrested and some more will be arrested soon. The government is very strict regarding such matters, the law will take its own course.”