Bihar: Two girls raped, woman found murdered in past 48 hours

PATNA: Two minor girls, including a five-year-old, were raped and another woman was found murdered in three separate incidents in the state during the past 48 hours on Saturday.
A five-year-old girl was raped by an autorickshaw driver under Sadar police station area of Darbhanga district late Friday evening. The victim, who was found unconscious and bleeding profusely, is undergoing treatment at Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).The accused Tetar Sahni was arrested late Friday night and sent to jail after producing him before the court on Saturday, Darbhanga SSP Babu Ram said. “The case will be listed for speedy trial. I have directed the SHO of the women’s police station to submit chargesheet in a day or two,” he added.
The victim’s father, a daily wager, told the police that her daughter was lured by Sahni when she was playing with another child in front of the house around 7pm on Friday. Sahni took her into the autorickshaw for a joyride and raped her in a nearby mango orchard. The autorickshaw was found near the spot.
DMCH superintendent Dr R R Prasad said on Saturday that her condition is critical. He said her private parts were badly damaged and had to be stitched. “We are taking every possible step to provide her better treatment and save her life,” he said.
The SSP said Sahni belonged to Bhagwanpur village in Darbhanga district. “The bloodstained clothes, which have signs of sperm, were sent to the forensic science laboratory for medical examination,” he told this newspaper. The SSP said the police have gathered sufficient evidence against the accused and the statement of the victim’s parents would be recorded in the court under Section 164 of CrPC.
Darbhanga Sadar SDPO Anoj Kumar, who visited the DMCH to record the girl’s statement, said the victim belonged to a poor family. “We will leave no stone unturned to ensure justice to the family,” Anoj said.
In another incident, a 16-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped and subsequently raped by a teacher of a government school in Supaul district late Thursday night. The victim’s family, however, reported the incident to the Nirmali police station on Friday evening following which an FIR was lodged against the accused who could not be arrested till late Saturday evening.
Supaul SP Manoj Kumar said on Saturday the victim’s statement was recorded after medical examination confirmed rape. The girl had earlier told the police that she was kidnapped on a motorbike by the accused Shambhu Prasad Yadav and one of his associates when she was waiting for her father around 9pm after her coaching classes on Thursday. The accused took her to the old office of the deputy registrar of land registration and raped her. Shambhu belonged to Madhubani district and was posted in Supaul.
Her family members started searching for her when she did not return home. She was found unconscious on early Friday morning. “Raids are on to nab the culprit, who has been booked under Sections 376 (rape), Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act besides relevant sections of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989,” the SP said.
In Sitamarhi, an unidentified woman’s body was recovered from a place close to the railway track at Bairgania on Saturday morning. The local residents first noticed the body and informed the Bairgania GRP. The body was sent for postmortem.
The locals suspected that the woman, in her late 30s, was killed after being raped. Bairgania GRP SHO Shashi Kapoor said her neck was slit and she had external injury marks on her body. Only the autopsy report would reveal whether the woman was raped or not before being killed, he said.
Meanwhile, deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi on Saturday evaded questions from media on a spurt in the incidents of rape in the state. Modi, who had gone to attend an awareness campaign for eye donation here, preferred to keep silent when mediapersons threw a volley of questions on surge in rape cases in recent months. Earlier, RJD leader and former CM Rabri Devi and her younger son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav tried to corner SuMo on crime against women.
With inputs from Darbhanga and Sitamarhi.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)