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Ludhiana: Man held under POCSO after 13-yr-old girl ends life
The family claimed that they also found lewd video of the girl in her mobile phone, in which the accused was seen “raping” and “threatening” her to follow his instruction; the accused was also heard allegedly threatening the girl that he will post her videos on social networking sites
Three days after a 13-year-old dalit girl allegedly ended her life by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in Mushkabad village, the Samrala police arrested a 45-year-old man of the same village in connection with the case.
The matter came to light on Tuesday when the family found objectionable messages and lewd videos sent by the accused, in whose house the victim’s mother used to worked as a domestic help.
The family claimed that they also found lewd video of the girl in her mobile phone, in which the accused was seen “raping” and “threatening” her to follow his instruction. The accused was also heard allegedly threatening the girl that he will post her videos on social networking sites.
The mother of the girl also alleged that after the suicide by her daughter on March 23, the accused forced them to cremate the body and deterred them from informing police, claiming that the police would implicate them in a case. They conducted the last rites of the girl on the same day.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP, Samrala) Tarlochan Singh stated that the girl had ended her life by hanging herself from the ceiling fan on March 23 when she was alone at home. The girl had lost her father at a very young age. Her mother works as a domestic help to run the family. The grandparents of the girl are workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.
He added that the family brought the matter to their knowledge on Tuesday and produced her mobile phone. The police found some lewd videos and messages sent by the accused to the victim. After receiving the complaint, the police arrested the accused.
“A case under sections 305 (abetment of suicide of child or insane person), 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC, section 12 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and section 3 of SC/ST Act has been lodged against the accused. It is yet to investigate if the accused had raped the girl and recorded lewd videos of her,” said the DSP.
The victim’s mother said that she used to work as domestic help in the accused’s house. She used to take her daughter along for her help. After she found his ntentions were malicious, she stopped going there. Meanwhile, the accused had trapped her daughter and started sexually exploiting her.
She added that on March 23, when her daughter took the extreme step, she was at work.
The neighbours noticed the lifeless body of the girl from the window and raised an alarm.
The aunt of the victim claimed that on Tuesday, when the accused found that they were going to file a complaint against him, he threatened them and later offered ₹7 lakh to hush up the matter.
