5 rape, molestation cases reported in Ludhiana in 24 hours

Youngest victim is just 18 months old; 2 accused arrested so far

An 18-month-old girl is the youngest among five victims, who were subjected to sexual assaults in the district.

Representative image

Five cases of rape and molestation were reported in 24 hours, wherein four victims are minors and three of them have been sexually assaulted by their family members — father, brother and uncle.

In the first case, a man raped his 14-year-old daughter and threatened her to keep mum. The victim, a student of Class 10, on Thursday informed her school principal about the crime perpetrated by her father, and she called the police.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered against the accused father at the woman police station of Jagraon. He has been arrested.

The victim in her complaint stated that her mother had left their house when she was four. “I have been living with my father since then. On the night of Wednesday, he came to my room and raped me. He also threatened me to keep mum,” the girl told the police.

She said she had no one to share her ordeal with, that was why she approached her school principal for help.

Inspector Raj Parminder Kaur, who is investigating the case, said a case under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 5 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act has been registered against the accused.

In the second case, Hathur police booked a man and his friend for allegedly raping the former’s 17-year-old niece. The victim stated that her aunt used to support her husband and even threatened her against making any complaint. The police have also booked the woman. All of them, however, are absconding.

The FIR was registered following the complaint of victim’s brother, a resident of Barnala. The complainant stated that the prime accused was his father’s cousin. “Our family had sent my sister to his house 10 months ago. After coming back, my sister complained that uncle and his friend had raped her. She also told us about the role of our aunt in the crime,” he added.

Sub-inspector Kamaldeep Kaur, who is investigating the case, said the FIR in the case has been registered under Sections 376, 506 and 120B of the IPC, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Pocso Act. “A hunt is on to nab the culprits,” she added.

In the third such case, an 18-month-old girl was raped in Daad village. The local police have booked a man in this case. In her complaint, mother of the victim stated that she had two daughters, the elder one being 4-year-old. “On Friday, I went to pick my elder daughter up from school after leaving my younger one in the custody of my neighbour,” she said.

The complainant added that when she returned home after 10 minutes, she saw the brother of her neighbour raping her daughter. “He fled from the spot on seeing me,” she told the police.

Sub-inspector Rajinder Kaur said they have registered an FIR under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 6 of the Pocso Act against the accused, efforts to nab whom are on.

In the fourth incident, the Focal Point police have booked a head constable for raping a mother of three. Gurpreet Singh of Raiyan village has been accused of raping the woman on the pretext of marriage.

In her complaint, the 38-year-old victim said that she had come in the cop’s contact following strained relationship with her husband. “Gurpreet promised me that he would marry me after divorcing his wife and also accept my children. On this pretext, he raped me at several instances, but later refused to marry me,” she added.

Investigation officer ASI Surjit Singh said the FIR in this case has been registered under Sections 417 and 376 of the IPC.

In the fifth case, a 10-year-old girl, a resident of Islamganj, made a complaint on child helpline number that her 19-year-old brother had on multiple instances attempted to rape her.

The victim told the police that she found the child helpline number (1098) written in a notebook.

Mamta Devi, child helpline official, traced the victim and lodged an FIR against the accused at the Division Number 2 police station.

Sub-inspector Tamanna Devi, who is investigating the case, said a case under Sections 376 and 511 of the IPC, along with Sections 4 and 8 of the Pocso Act, has been registered against the accused, who has been arrested.