New Delhi, Oct 6 (IANS) A 32-year-old married woman was raped by a friend with whom she went out to see Durga Puja celebrations. The friend drugged her and raped her in his car, police said Thursday.


The friend is absconding.

The victim, a native of Panipat in Haryana, was staying with her husband in Rohini Sector 24 in north Delhi. Her husband, an apple trader, had gone on a business trip to Himachal Pradesh.

She called one of her friends -- Sanju alias Tinku, 30 -- Wednesday evening to accompany her to Durga Puja celebrations in nearby areas. Sanju, when he learnt that her husband was out of station, planned to rape her.

Sanju picked up the woman from her residence in his car and offered her a cold drink laced with sedatives, which made her semi-conscious. He drove his car to an isolated place in Rohini and raped her.

Sanju then dumped her in the bushes near Peeragarhi. "Some passerby made a call stating that a woman was lying in the bushes. Our team went and rushed her to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital," said a senior police officer.

After she regained consciousness, the woman related the incident to the police. "After the medical report, we registered a case and informed her husband," said the officer.

Sanju is absconding, police said.