NEW DELHI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Friday claimed to have detained nine people in connection with a horrific gangrape of five women in eastern state of Jharkhand.

The five women, belonging to a non-government organization, were allegedly abducted and then raped by some armed men earlier this week while they were conducting anti-human trafficking campaigns and streetplays in the state's Khunti district, some 90 km from capital Ranchi.

"So far, nine people have been detained in the case. They are being interrogated," a senior police official said.

Local media reported that the women were raped while some men accompanying them were held at gunpoint, before being released three hours later. The accused had even filmed the act and threatened to make it public if the women approached police, according to media.

Police who are said to have known about the incident from a local source suspect that the perpetrators are supporters of Pathalgadi, a feudal tribal system under which the people govern themselves according to the tribe's rules and do not recognize the state's authority.

"Three separate teams have been constituted to nab the criminals, some of them have been identified. Raids are on at suspected locations," Deputy Inspector General of Jharkhand Police A.V. Homkar told the media.