Barmer: Prime Accused In 14-Year-Old Girl's Rape Arrested

The main accused in Barmer rape case of a minor girl has been reportedly arrested by Rajasthan Police. The 14-year-old survivor was reportedly gangraped on Tuesday. After a case was registered, the police had immediately started the investigation. The prime accused was detained late Wednesday night and was arrested on Thursday morning, police said.

As per sources quoted by Zee News, there was more than one person involved in the heinous crime. The reports alleged that one of the accused assaulted the girl and another clicked photographs of the crime. The incident happened when the girl’s family had gone out to vote in the panchayat election. Taking advantage of the situation, the accused allegedly kidnapped her, and then took her to an isolated place and assaulted her. The girl was then left unconscious. The accused fled from the spot after the crime and the minor girl was then taken to a government hospital for treatment.

Anand Sharma, Barmer superintendent of police, said the accused was identified as Gangaram Bheel, a resident of Dantal village in Jaisalmer district, Hindustan Times reported. He is a farm labourer. The accused reportedly confessed to the crime after being interrogated by the police.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (@NCPCR_) on Thursday expressed concern over the abduction and sexual assault of two minor girls in #Rajasthan's #Baran district.

It took suo moto cognizance of media reports of sexual crimes against the two minors in Baran. pic.twitter.com/yh6AQBfcPc

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) October 1, 2020

The accused used to work in the fields owned by the girl’s grandfather, as per police. There was no sign of injuries in the survivor’s genitalia, the SP Sharma added. He also said that the investigation is ongoing and police has arrested only one accused so far. However, the police did not deny that there could be more than one person behind the crime, as per the survivor’s statement. Barmer police have registered a case under POCSO Act and IT Act.

Also Read: Let’s not skirt the issue of sexual violence

A report by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) revealed that Rajasthan has recorded the highest number of sexual violence complaints. The chairperson of the statutory body on Tuesday said that 87 complaints were received from Rajasthan, the highest so far, followed by 80 in Tamil Nadu and 72 in Telangana. "The complaints from these states are more or less the same," chairperson Priyank Kanoongo added. A recent National Crime Records Bureau data showed a significant rise in cases of crimes against children in the country. In 2019, crimes against children went up by 4.5 percent.

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