65-year-old man rapes 11-year-old mentally disabled girl in Panchkula, held

Minor boys films the crime and shares video with police, which helped them nab the accused.

An 11-year-old mentally disabled girl was allegedly raped by a 65-year-old man, who has been arrested.

The accused, Dhir Singh, resident of Dhakoli, Punjab, and a retired government employee, was nabbed within 24 hours of the incident after an 11-year-old boy shared with police a video of the crime shot by him.

The victim’s father told the police that his wife had died of cancer and he had four children. “When I returned from work on Tuesday, my neighbours informed me of my daughter’s rape by an unidentified person and that a video of the incident was being circulated,” he stated in his complaint.

On seeing the video, the complainant approached the women police station and sought action the accused and the people, who were circulating the video.

As such, a case under Section 67-B of the Information Technology Act and Sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered and the accused was arrested on Wednesday.

“The accused visited the victim’s neighbourhood often and raped her in a street. A minor boy shot a video of the crime and shared it with the police. The video helped us zero in on the accused, as the victim cannot communicate well,” said assistant commissioner of police Noopur Bishnoi, adding that the police had rewarded the boy for helping crack the case.

The accused was produced in court on Wednesday and sent to one-day police remand.