Patna, Sept. 28: A 20-year-old woman is struggling for life after being gang-raped by a neighbour and his associate in Katihar district, around 300km northeast of Patna.

The alleged tormenters also inserted a sharp-edged weapon into the woman's private parts, causing severe injuries to her and endangering her life.

The police swung into action when the woman regained consciousness two days after the incident and got her statement recorded today.

Police said the woman was taken hostage and raped by a certain Mantu Kumar when she had gone to her agriculture field on Tuesday. Initially, Mantu harassed her on the pretext of cutting grass from his field and later outraged her modesty. His friend, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, also joined him and the duo raped her.

Her cries for help went unheard, as the area where the incident occurred was isolated. The tormenters also inserted a sickle (sharp-edged agriculture tool used to cut grass) into her private parts. She fell unconscious from excessive bleeding.

The station house officer (SHO) of Pothia police outpost Amit Kumar, under whose jurisdiction the area falls, said on Thursday that the main accused, Mantu Kumar, said to be the woman's neighbour, was absconding since the incident. 'Raids were on to nab him,' he told The Telegraph over phone.

Amit said the woman was sent for medical examination but the report was still awaited. 'We are waiting for the medical report. Once the report confirms rape, stern action will be initiated against the accused,' he said, adding that Mantu's family members have been pressurised to convince him to surrender.

The SHO said there was evidence of stitches on the girl's private parts. 'We are in touch with doctors to ensure better treatment to the woman who had married last year,' he said over the phone from Katihar.

The woman belongs to a lower-middle-class family and residents had spotted her lying in a pool of blood. They then reported the incident to the Pothia police station. Later a police team led by the SHO Amit reached the site and sent the woman to hospital for treatment.

In a similar case in New Delhi in December 2012, a young woman was brutally assaulted by five men and a juvenile.

The men had lured the 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist and her male friend on to a minibus in New Delhi on the night of December 16, 2012, before repeatedly raping the woman and beating both with a metal bar and dumping them on a road.

They had also inserted a rod into the woman's private part. The woman died of internal injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital.