BENGALURU: At least 100 men, women and young girls of Narayanaswamy Layout blocked traffic on the busy JC Road on Tuesday, protesting against the alleged rape of a nine-year-old girl by her 50-year-old neighbour. The accused was arrested on Monday but the locals accused the police of giving him preferential treatment.
The protesters alleged that Mohammed Anwar, a resident of Narayanaswamy Layout, raped the girl when she had gone to his house to play with his granddaughter on Monday afternoon. According to a senior police officer, the girl who returned in the evening complained of severe pain in her private parts.
Her mother took her to a nearby hospital where she was examined and told by the doctors that she had been sexually assaulted, police said.
The family then went to Anwar’s house and tried to thrash him. However, Anwar fled and reportedly surrendered to the police claiming innocence and stating that he was being targeted by the locals. Police arrested Anwar and filed a case against him.
“Police here are known for taking money and letting the accused go. We are scared that the same will happen now. We want to ensure that justice is meted out to the family. He is a rogue and needs to be in jail,” said Shailabano, a resident of the area.
Accusing police of supplying tea and coffee with biscuits to the accused, another protester said, “How can the police give him such special treatment unless he has paid them? They might even hush up the case like they have done earlier in our area.”
Demanding justice for her daughter, the girl’s mother lay on the road along with a few other women and raised slogans against the police. “Unless such people are punished, there will be many others who target women and children. I want justice for my daughter and others like her who are being harassed by such men,” she said.
However, Athaullah, Anwar’s son said that the girl used to come to their house often and was close to his father. “My father is a heart patient and he doesn’t go out anywhere. He is not the kind of person who would misbehave with a girl,” he said.
Meanwhile a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) has been filed against the accused. “We have booked a POCSO case and have sent him to judicial custody. The allegations made by people about preferential treatment being given to him is false. We will take any case that is filed at our police station,” a senior police official said.