Minor gang-raped by nine people in MP

The Madhya Pradesh police on Saturday arrested eight people on charges of abducting and gang-raping a 13-year-old girl for three days, officials said.

Police have identified the eight accused as residents of Umaria. They are Akash Singh, Rahul Kushwaha, Paras Soni, Manu Kewat, Onkar Rai, Eitendra Singh, Rajnish Choudhary and Rohit Yadav. The police are yet to identify one of the accused.

They were arrested under section 376 (d) (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under relevant section of Protection of Children from Sexual Offence.

Umaria superintendent of police (SP) Vikas Shahwal said the girl was in trauma and being counselled.

"A Class 9 student, the girl had come to Umaria from Jabalpur to meet her mother on January 10. On January 11, two men, Akash and Rahul, met her in a market. They asked her to join them for a lunch. They took the girl to a forest and raped her," said Shahwal.

"They reached a dhaba where they held her hostage for the whole night. Later, Dhaba owner Paras Soni and four others raped her. The girl requested the accused to allow her to go. The girl was sent to her home in a truck. She shared her trauma with the truck driver, Rohit Yadav, but instead of informing police, the driver raped her. The truck driver left her near a toll plaza on Umaria-Katni road. She flagged down another truck and the unidentified driver too raped her. The girl somehow reached her home on January 13 and informed the police," he added.

Police are investigating the matter and are on the lookout for the unidentified truck driver.