Madhya Pradesh: 13-year-old kidnapped twice, gangraped multiple times by nine men
This is the fourth incident of crimes against women reported in the state in a week.
The Madhya Pradesh Police arrested seven men for allegedly kidnapping and gangraping a 13-year-old girl multiple times in Umaria district, NDTV reported on Sunday. Two others complicit in the crime were absconding, the police said.
The police said that a man, who knew the girl, first abducted her on January 4, and raped her with six of his accomplices for two days. He then released the girl, but threatened that he would kill her if she divulged what had happened.
Six days later, she was kidnapped again, this time by one of the other men who had raped her on January 4 and January 5. The man held the girl captive in the nearby forest area and a roadside dhaba, and raped her along with two other men, according to The New Indian Express.
The kidnappers then abandoned the girl, following which she was raped again allegedly by two truck drivers. The matter was reported to Katni police on Friday, after the 13-year-old managed to escape from the drivers, and returned home.
Following this, multiple police teams conducted searches. “We’ve so far arrested seven accused and hope to nab the remaining accused of the first case by Saturday night,” Katni Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar Shahwal told The New Indian Express.
Also read:
- Madhya Pradesh: Woman allegedly raped and tortured; 14-year-old girl killed after alleged assault
- Working women will be tracked for their safety, says Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Chouhan: Report
The incident took place at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party government of Shivraj Chouhan is running a “Shamman” campaign to raise awareness on crimes against women. This is the fourth such incident reported in the state in the past week.
On January 9, a 45-year-old woman was left grievously injured after three men allegedly raped and tortured her. The police have arrested the main accused in the case.
The woman, who runs a roadside tea shop, said she was sleeping inside a shanty when the accused knocked on her door to ask for water. When she refused, they allegedly barged inside the hut and raped her. After this, the woman alleged that she was tortured with an iron rod.
Two days later, the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly killing the 14-year-old girl in Khandwa district. The arrest was made after the police found the girl’s body on the roof of the grocery trader shop in Jamania village. The police suspect that the accused raped the girl and then strangled her to cover up the crime.
In another incident, a young woman was assaulted by her husband and father-in-law in Ujjain, after they suspecting her of infidelity, reported NDTV. The accused along with the women of the husband’s family used sharp-edged weapons to cut the woman’s nose, breast, and also injured parts of her body.
The Chouhan-led government has made erroneous proposals to curb crimes against women, where the focus appears to be on further restricting their movement, instead of making public spaces safer for women.
On January 13, Chouhan said that would put a surveillance system in place under which women who go outside their houses for work can register themselves at a local police station “and she will be tracked for her safety”.