In a heinous crime, a mother of five children was allegedly gang raped by 17 men who held her husband hostage in Jharkhand’s Dumka district, around 300 km northeast of the capital Ranchi, according to the complaint lodged by the woman on Wednesday, police said.

Expressing serious concern over the matter, the National Commission for Women (NCW) on Thursday asked the state police to complete the probe in the case within two months.

The police registered an FIR against 17 people including a person known to the survivor. Based on the statement to the police, deputy inspector general (DIG) of Santhal region, Sudarshan Mandal and Dumka superintendent of police (SP) Ambar Lakra visited the village of the victim to investigate the matter.

The woman told the police the accused were drunk, the reports said. In a statement, the NCW said it is seriously concerned about the reported incident has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.

''Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Director General of Police, Jharkhand seeking adherence to guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs of completing probes in two months in cases of sexual assault,'' the NCW said. The commission said it has also sought a detailed action taken report in the matter from the police.

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