PATNA: In the fourth incident of sexual assault on minor girls in Jharkhand in the past four days, a 12-year-old girl was gang-raped by seven youths in Godda district, police said on Monday.
The victim, currently under treatment at Godda Sadar Hospital, narrated police her trauma and, on the basis of her statement, two of the accused – Praveen Murmu and Pradeep Murmu – were arrested. Godda SP Rajeev Ranjan said raids are being conducted to arrest the other five accused.
“The incident took place at Pathargama village on Sunday night, when the girl came out of her grandmother’s house to answer nature’s call. The accused, waiting outside her house, carried her to a nearby field and raped her,” said a police official involved in the investigation.
Doctors at Godda Sadar Hospital said the girl’s condition is stable. Sources said a medical test on her confirmed rape.
After the gang-rape incidents in Chatra and Pakur, the latest incident drew wider attention on the issue of minor girls’ safety in Jharkhand. In Chatra, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and later burnt to death by a young man and his friends on Thursday night. Fifteen people, including the main accused and members of the local village panchayat, have been arrested. The panchayat had imposed a fine on the main accused for the rape, thus making him livid and prompting him to set the girl afire.
Similarly, a 16-year-old girl was set afire after being raped in Pakur on Friday. The victim, who suffered 70 per cent burn injuries, is now battling for her life at Bokaro General Hospital (BGH). She was first rushed to a hospital in Murshidabad in West Bengal, which is closer to her home, and was shifted to BGH on Monday. The accused has been arrested.
In Garhwa, a 16-year-old tribal girl was gang-raped by two men at gunpoint at her house in Obra area on Thursday night. The accused also took away jewellery and Rs 56,000 her family had kept for her wedding, said police.