PATNA: In the third incident of rape of a minor girl in Bihar in the past 24 hours, a nine-year-old girl was found killed after being raped in Muzaffarpur district on Sunday.
Police said the body of the girl was recovered from a maize field in Musahari village of Musahari police station area. “The young girl prima facie appears to have been strangulated after being raped on Saturday night. her body was found in a maize field about half a kilometer away from her house,” said Jyoti Kumari, SHO of the police station.
The girl’s body was sent to Shree Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur for an autopsy. Cops said a khaini dabba (small container used to store tobacco) was recovered from the maize field.
A team of forensic experts and a dog squad gathered evidence at the spot where the body was found, but got no credible leads because a large number of villagers had visited the spot before the teams arrived, said sources.
Police sources said the girl had returned home at about 10 PM on Saturday after watching TV at a neighbour’s house and then gone out to relieve herself ten minutes later. Before she returned, her mother had fallen asleep.
On Saturday, a 14-year-old girl was abducted and raped by her 17-year-old neighbour in Naugachhia in Bhagalpur district. Similarly, a ten-year-old girl was raped by her 22-year-old neighbour in her house under Sasaam town police station in Rohtas district on Saturday afternoon.
While the Naugachhia incident was initially believed to be a gang-rape, police said the 17-year-old neighbour perpetrated the crime alone while one of his friends kept a watch to alert him about people arriving. The girl was abducted while cutting grass. Her younger sister later found her abandoned in a cowshed. No arrests were made till Sunday evening even though police kept raiding several places.
Incidents of rape of minors within hours of the Union cabinet clearing lengthier sentences and even death sentence for men accused of raping girls aged 12 and below sparked concerns in Bihar.