A 38-year-old woman who works as a labourer was allegedly raped by five men near a railway station in Madhya Pradesh for nearly seven hours, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on November 18, but was only reported on Monday evening, a senior police officer from the Habibganj railway police station BL Sen told news agency Press Trust of India. The woman alleged that she had earlier gone to Obaidullagunj police station, but was asked to go to Habibganj.

Mr Sen said the woman was waiting for a train at Obaidullaganj station to go to Budhni, where she worked, when she met with an acquaintance who offered to arrange someone to drop her on a motorcycle. She agreed to go with him, police said.

However, instead of taking her to her village, the accused allegedly took her to a deserted place and raped her. The man then called four of his friends who allegedly took her to a railway under-bridge near Obaidullaganj station and raped her again, Mr Sen said.

The woman managed to reach home on Sunday morning and filed a complaint with Habibganj police station on Monday, Mr Sen said. “We will soon arrest the accused,” he said, adding the accused have been booked for gang-rape. The medical report of the woman is yet to come.

The police station in-charge at Obaidullaganj denied the accusation and said she had not turned up at the police station or spoken to anyone outside.

“This police station is located by a national highway. I am not aware if any outside person or the policeman of any other station asked her to go to GRP Habibganj police station,” the police station in-charge added.

On October 31, a 19-year-old student was raped for three hours in Bhopal. The police had made her wait for hours before taking her complaint, which led to the suspension of six officers.

In another incident, a 10-year-old was gang-raped by a 65-year-old and watchman and two others in Bhopal over three months.