Six people have been detained after a minor girl was allegedly gang-raped, tonsured and paraded through her village as punishment by the panchayat in the Gaya district of Bihar, IANS reported quoting police.
The girl, police said, was kidnapped on the evening of 14 August, when she was out to relieve herself, and forcibly taken to the roof of the local panchayat building, where she was repeatedly raped till she lost her consciousness.
A villager spotted her the next day and informed the family, who then brought her home, the IANS report said.
The girl’s family members raised the issue at the panchayat after she identified one of the accused, Hindustan Times reported.
However, the village Panchayat, which is allegedly under the influence of the powerful relatives of the accused, ordered punishment for the girl, who was then tonsured and paraded through the village, according to IANS.
“On 15 August, my daughter had gone outside to relieve herself when six people in a car abducted her. She was taken to the roof of the panchayat building, where she was disrobed and beaten up. Later, all the six accused took turns to rape her,” the HT report quoted the survivor’s mother as saying at the SSP office on Monday.
FIR Registered 11 Days After the Incident
An FIR was registered at the women police station on Monday, 11 days after the incident took place in Masaundha village of Mohanpur block in Gaya. The police acted only after the victim and her mother met top district police officials on Saturday, according to IANS.
"Six people have been detained so far," Niranjana Kumari, Women Police Station Officer Incharge, told IANS.
“All the five panchayat members, who held the meeting and ordered the punishment, have been named as accused in the case under the POSCO Act and have been detained. Besides, Devlal Yadav, who was identified by the victim as one of the six accused of the gang rape, has also been detained. The victim has so far not been able to identify the rest of the accused.”Ravibhusan, Officer-Incharge, Mohanpur police station, as quoted by IANS
Taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, Bihar Women Commission's Chairperson Dilmani Mishra has reportedly written to the Gaya senior superintendent of police, seeking a report on the case and asking him to produce all the panchayat members before the Commission on 2 September.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and IANS)
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