Those who made videos of injured girl in Kannauj face arrest

Sub-inspector Manoj Pandey, who had carried the girl from the guest house to the hospital, lodged the FIR against 15-20 unidentified people

KANPUR As many as 15-20 people, who made videos instead of helping the badly injured 12-year-old girl even as she pleaded for help in Gursahaigunj town of UP’s Kannauj district, face arrest after an FIR was lodged against them on Friday. Four of these people were identified from a video and efforts were on for their arrest, said police.

The girl’s family said she was found in a guest house of the Public Works Department hours after she went out to buy a piggy bank on Sunday. (Pic for representation)

“People displayed the height of insensitivity towards the suffering of a little girl. All these people are being identified through videos and police will initiate effective action. We want to set an example so that people realise that they should help others in need rather than making videos for social media,” said Bhanu Bhaskar, ADG (Kanpur zone).

Videos of the girl, who was suspected to have been raped, pleading for help had gone viral and provoked outrage. The girl’s family said she was found in a guest house of the Public Works Department hours after she went out to buy a piggy bank on Sunday. She suffered injuries on the head and the arms. The police had lodged a case of rape and attempt to murder.

Sub-inspector Manoj Pandey, who had carried the girl from the guest house to the hospital, lodged the FIR against 15-20 unidentified people under Sections 228A, 354 (B) and 505 (2) of the IPC and Section 66E of the IT Act.

In the FIR, the S-I stated that the police received information about a girl found on the premises of PWD guest house and a crowd that was making videos and taking pictures of her rather than making any effort to send her to the hospital.

“The girl was raising her bleeding arm and asking for help when I reached there. Everyone was obsessed with making videos…I tried to stop them but in vain,” he said.

“These people did not help, but uploaded the videos on social media, which resulted in exposure of the girl’s identity,” added Pandey who is investigating the case of assault on the girl.

Through a CCTV cam footage from a shop, the police identified a man with whom the girl was seen talking and walking behind till the guest house.

This man had a criminal history of assaulting children and two such cases were registered against him in Farrukhabad and Kannauj in 2018, said locals. Five police teams were on his trail as he continued to evade arrest. His last location was traced in Hardoi.