13-yr-old Dalit girl from MP raped by 4 for over a year in UP; now 7-month pregnant

BAREILLY: A 13-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi district was repeatedly raped for nearly a year by four unidentified men in UP’s Bareilly district and “threatened with dire consequences” by the accused.

The traumatised minor, who belongs to the Dalit community and lives with her parents — both labourers — in a thatched hut in the district’s Izzatnagar area, is now seven months pregnant.

When her mother recently learnt about her daughter’s health condition, she broke down and narrated her ordeal. The accused men are from the locality. On Monday, local members of a right-wing group came to know about the family’s plight and took the survivor and her mother to the local police station. A medical report later confirmed her advanced pregnancy.

An FIR was subsequently registered against the four accused under IPC sections 376-D (gang-rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) along with the SC/ST and Pocso acts. Local police outpost in-charge, Ajay Singh, carried out a quick probe and arrested one of the accused.

Circle officer (Bareilly), Anita Chauhan, told TOI, “The complaint is very serious. We promptly booked the accused for the brutality. One of the accused is being questioned. We are trying to identify the rest and will arrest them soon. The girl was sent for medico-legal exam on Monday and her statement will be recorded before the magistrate.”

Still in shock and disbelief, the survivor’s mother told TOI, “On October 13, my daughter felt enormous pain in her stomach and began to cry. I then took her to a doctor who suggested ultrasound and the report said that my daughter was a few months pregnant.”

She added: “Initially, I thought there was some mistake on the doctor’s part, and then asked my daughter. She looked scared and remained quiet as she was threatened by the accused not to speak about it. Then she gradually revealed what she went through. We are poor people, don’t know whether police would give us time, so I took the help of Karni Sena to register an FIR.”

(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Courtesy : TOI

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