Home guard held for raping girl on pretext of ‘curing’ her
BARIPADA: A home guard of Jamda police station in Mayurbhanj district was arrested and produced in court on Tuesday for allegedly raping a minor girl from Jharkhand.
The accused is Debendra Patra of Gulata village. The 12-year-old girl is a resident of Manjari area in Jharkhand.
Sources said the girl had been ailing for the last several days. Though her parents took her to doctors and local quacks, the minor’s condition did not improve. The girl’s uncle then advised the parents to take her to Patra who claimed to be a traditional healer and also indulged in black magic.
Subsequently, the parents brought the minor to Jamda and met the accused. After checking the girl, Patra told her parents that in order to cure her, he needed to conduct a ritual that should be performed only at night. Besides, the girl should be alone during the entire exercise.
On Thursday, the girl’s parents paid money to Patra for the ritual. The same night, the accused took the girl to a secluded place and reportedly assaulted her sexually there. Later in the night, the home guard returned with the minor and handed her over to her uncle.
On reaching home, the minor narrated her ordeal to her parents following which a complaint was lodged in Jamda police station. Based on the complaint, a case was registered under the POCSO Act and police arrested the accused home guard.