Man Let Off With Sit-Ups For Raping A Girl, 5, In Bihar

November 25 is marked every year as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The United Nations General Assembly designated this day to raise awareness around the crimes that women are subjected to in the form of rape, domestic violence and other forms of brutality. The UN also mentions how today marks a reminder that while these crimes occur daily, in some really brutal forms, the numbers are often hidden, and crimes are often neglected, leaving almost no power or justice with the survivors. It's ironic that today's news from Bihar stresses how crimes against women are neither taken seriously nor accounted for because most of the country's system is still dawned on patriarchy. A five-year-old girl was raped at a village in Bihar's Nawada district and her rapist was punished with all of 5 sit-ups.

A man, who abducted a 5-year-old girl, took her to his poultry farm and raped her, was caught and produced before the village panchayat which instructed him to do 5 sit-ups as a punishment in front of the onlookers for the brutal crime he committed.

Suggested Reading: How Violence Against Women Is Deeply Rooted In Disrespect

Bihar village minor rape case

The incident which occurred in a village in the Nawada district of Bihar has caused outrage because of the kind of punishment the accused was given for the brutal crime he executed.

In a video gone viral, the man can be seen doing sit-ups in front of a village crowd on the village council’s instructions. That was his sentence, 5 sit-ups. According to reports, the man had abducted the child on the pretext of giving her chocolates and took her to his poultry farm nearby, where he raped her. He was produced before the village panchayat after he was caught and the elderly men decided to not turn him in and instead give him a punishment there itself in front of the village residents. They decide the man was not guilty of rape without any investigation and punished him for 'only' taking the child to a secluded spot.

The video has now sparked a great deal of outrage all over social media and people around the country have been flagging the post to the Chief Minister of Bihar and the Deputy CM demanding stringent punishment for a crime like this.

After the incident came to light, Gaurav Mangla the Superintendent Of Police stated that an FIR has been registered in the case and that strict action will be taken against the man. SP Mangla also said that they will also investigate those involved in suppressing the matter.

While this particular incident is shocking, it is also an example to reflect whether more such cases in villages have been suppressed like this one and whether punishments for abduction and rape of minors have only been limited to sit-ups? Even if the man is arrested and punished severely for his crime, it's still unfortunate to think that a five-year-old minor girl who was allegedly raped after being abducted by a man in her own village will grow up thinking that the punishment for such a crime is a mere sit-up.