CNN-IBN TV Report

Mumbai, Feb 4: In a shocking incident an American couple was brutally assaulted in suburban Mumbai last month. The attack is believed to be the result of a property dispute.

The American couple's Indian vacation turned into a nightmare when they visited their ancestral farm in a north Mumbai suburb. Shegufa Haubrich and her husband, Robert Dean Ervin claim they were brutally assaulted by Shagufa's cousins when they refused to vacate the disputed property.

"Basically they sexually molested and thrown me in a car and my husband was beaten when he came to save me. And for no reason my brother was dragged and made naked and pushed in the car," said Shegufa Haubrich.

They didn't even spare Shagufa's septuagenarian parents. Trouble started on January 24, when the couple, accompanied by Shegufa's parents and brother Tehmton visited Ideal Farm in Dahisar. Ownership of the said farm is disputed, with both Tehmton and his cousin Boman laying claim to it. The original owner Rustom Irani was Tehmton and Boman's adoptive father.

The incident took place at about 1000 hrs IST in the morning when Boman's brother Percy Chowdhry and his friend Boman Behram Irani entered the room that the family were in and demanded that Tehmton vacate the premises. When Tehmton refused to budge, they started harassing them and called the police.

"The police was brought in the afternoon, some around 11, we saw many police but only two or three police walked inside the firm and had a word with Percy and left," she added.

Later in the evening, Percy and Boman barged in yet again and managed to confiscate all cell phones. This left Shagufa traumatized.

Shegufa said: “All of a sudden there were like 25 to 30 people stormed into the room. Six men pinned me down and molested me. When my husband tried to stop them they hit him on the head with an iron rod. They then dragged the three of us out of the house and forced us into a car."

Robert then drove them to the nearest police station with his head bleeding. But they claim the police was far from helpful.

"The police told us, in no uncertain terms, that they had also filed a complaint against us for trespassing and if we filed a complaint, they would have to arrest us, " said Shegufa husband Robert Dean Ervin.

Dejected Shagufa's family filed a private complaint with the local magistrate who directed a Senior Police Inspector to investigate the matter.

"We have received instructions from the court to investigate the matter and we have started doing the same now," said DCP Zone XII Shivaji Bodhke.

Though Shagufa's mother Threaty, Robert, and their driver were treated for their injuries at Bhagwati Hospital, the family is still understandably shaken.