BHOPAL: In a shocking incident, a nine-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three minors aged 12, 13, and 16 in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh.
All three boys have been booked under Section 70(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which addresses the gang-rape of a minor under 18 years of age, alongside relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Following an appearance before the Rajgarh juvenile court on Tuesday, the trio was remanded to a juvenile correctional facility in Bhopal.
The assault took place in a forested stretch adjoining a village in the Pachore area, located roughly 120 km from the state capital. The victim, a Class V student, had gone to graze goats in the company of the 12-year-old boy.
According to investigators, the other two boys, a 13-year-old student and a 16-year-old Class VII dropout, subsequently arrived at the spot. The trio then lured the girl deeper into the forest under the pretext of plucking date palms.
Once isolated, the boys sexually assaulted her sequentially. Statements recorded from the victim indicate that the 16-year-old instigated the assault, and directed the other two minors to follow suit. He also allegedly attempted to record the assault on his mobile phone, though police suspect the footage was subsequently deleted.
Pachore police station in-charge Shakuntala Bamaniya confirmed the registration of the case and the subsequent transfer of the juveniles to the correctional home in Bhopal following court orders.