Now, 7-year-old tribal girl in MP gang-raped by minor neighbours

Adding another horrific chapter to the incidents of rapes and murders of two minors in Ujjain and Bhopal, a seven-year-old girl is reported to have been gang-raped by her minor neighbours in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh, around 780 km from the state capital.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, but was reported very late in the night after the survivor reached the Waidhan district hospital in Singrauli for treatment. Her condition is stable, police officials told THE WEEK.

The superintendent of police of Singrauli, Abhijit Ranjan, told THE WEEK that the incident occurred under Sarai police station area, some 75 km from the district headquarters. The survivor, belonging to the tribal community, had gone to take a bath in a local river along with some neighbourhood children.

After the bath, when other children left, the girl was reportedly raped by two accused minor boys—both 15-16 years of age. She couldn’t narrate the incident properly to her mother though she started having medical problems. The local health centre also could not detect the condition effectively and it was only after a nurse at the district hospital asked some leading questions to the survivor late on Tuesday night, did she reveal the entire incident, SP Ranjan said.

As the girl mentioned the accused by name, the boys were rounded up in the morning and further probe was on, the SP said. The accused boys are close neighbours of the survivor, he added.

Bhopal IG lands in controversy

Meanwhile, Bhopal Inspector General of Police (IG), Yogesh Deshmukh, landed in a controversy when a section of media quoted him as having said that if any incidents of rape and murder were witnessed by policemen, the accused would be shot. 

However, when THE WEEK contacted Deshmukh, he said that he was quoted out of context. “I had said that under some sections of Indian Penal Code, there are provisions of self-defense with the police and if any situation arose where the policemen challenged criminals caught in some dastardly act and were attacked, then they could even fire at the accused. I can never say that anyone found in the criminal act may be shot,” the IG clarified. 

The IG added that the Bhopal police will carry out sensitization of police personnel and awareness among people and also strengthen community policing by making police personnel each in-charge of particular identified localities. In such localities ‘Mohalla Samiti’ like groups would also be constituted for community monitoring, he said.