Guntur cops try to follow Disha Bill in spirit

VIJAYAWADA: Even before the Disha Act has been enacted, Guntur urban police are set to file one of the quickest a chargesheets against a man accused of raping a minor. The Guntur urban police arrested a 19-year-old for allegedly kidnapping and raping a five-year-old girl on Guntur town. The police plan to file the chargesheet within 48 hours.
According to the police, the incident took place on December 11 at around 5pm.A five-year-old girl returned home from school in an auto-rickshaw. Upon reaching home, she found that there was no one there and the door was locked from outside. Finding her home locked, she went into the accused’s home where he was alone. Police say that the girl went to the accused’s home as she regarded him as an elder brother.
The little girl settled down at the accused’s home and was watching TV when the accused is alleged to have forcefully disrobed and raped her. He also reportedly told the girl to not tell anyone about the incident and threatened to kill her if she did. The girl did not say anything to her parents for a day and remained reclusive.
But the next day her parents observed that she was not eating anything saying that she had a stomach ache. Upon enquiring further, her parents saw that she was bleeding from her private parts. It was then that the five-year-old related the incident to her parents. The parents lodged a complaint against the accused at the Nagarapalem police station on December 12 at around 11pm. The police arrested the accused on December 14 at 9pm while he was near Chuttugunta Centre in the city, trying to flee.
Currently, the Pedavegi police in West Godavari district arguably hold the record for filing the quickest chargesheet—within 48 hours. The Disha Bill proposed by the YSRC mandates the completion of investigation and trial of any case related to sexual assault on women and children within 21 days. While the Guntur urban police may not best Pedavegi police’s record, they are trying to implement the mandated provisions of the Disha Bill in spirit.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)