This story is from August 9, 2019

Two minors killed after ‘gang rape’ in Katihar village

Two minor girls, who had gone missing on Wednesday, were found murdered, allegedly after being gang raped in Katihar district, police said on Thursday.
Two minors killed after ‘gang rape’ in Katihar village
Representative image
PATNA: Two minor girls, who had gone missing on Wednesday, were found murdered, allegedly after being gang raped in Katihar district, police said on Thursday.
The two Class VII students of a local government middle school, who were classmates, had gone missing from Gadai Diara (riverine belt) in Katihar district on Wednesday evening. Their family members searched for them the whole night but found no trace of them.
On Thursday morning, the bodies of the victims were found at a deserted spot under Amdabad police station in the same district, bordering Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district, police sources said.
The spot is nearly 50-km away from Katihar district police headquarters.
Katihar SP Vikas Kumar said the girls had gone to their family farm land after crossing over the Ganga on a country boat on Wednesday noon. The family members started searching for them when they didn’t return home till late in the evening.
The two girls were found with their throat slit with a sharp weapon. Marks of external injury were also found, which suggested that the victims had resisted rape. “Prima facie it appears the girls were killed after being raped,” the SP said, adding the bodies have been sent to Sahibganj for post mortem examination.
The SP said the area is inaccessible for the police due to its topography. “It takes more than four to five hours to reach the spot, which is across the river. Country boat is the only means of transportation,” he said, adding both the deceased belonged to lower strata of society. A youth from neighbouring Chamatoli village has been named as accused while others are yet to be identified.

“An FIR has been lodged based on the statement of the victims’ relatives,” a police officer posted at Amdabad police station said.
Police sources said the named accused (whose identity has been withheld by the police officials) used to harass the girls while going to school. However, the relatives didn’t report the matter to the police fearing social stigma.
The prime accused in the case is reported to be absconding after the incident. “We have formed a special police team led by Manihari sub-divisional police officer Mohammad S H Fakhri to nab the culprits at the earliest,” SP Sharma told this newspaper over phone on Thursday.
Locals said agriculture is the only means of livelihood for a majority of residents of this region. “Men, women and children work together in their agricultural field. The deceased had gone to pluck pointed gourd from their field. But destiny had something else in store for them,” said Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Manihari sub-divisional town.
The incident has sent shock waves among the residents of the area. A posse of armed police force has been deployed in the village as a precautionary measure.
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