Five-year-old raped in Hapur

MEERUT/GHAZIABAD: A five-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by two men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district, police said on Saturday, days after a 35-year-old

MEERUT/GHAZIABAD: A five-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by two men in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district, police said on Saturday, days after a 35-year-old woman and her minor daughter were sexually assaulted by highway robbers in neighbouring Bulandshahr district.

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The incident took place on Friday night in Khera village along national highway-24, which connects Delhi and Ghaziabad with Lucknow. The Bulandshahr rape happened on NH-91.

Doctors at the Meerut Medical College said the minor had to undergo surgery but her condition was stable.

The Hapur incident is the latest in a string of crimes against women in the state. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2014 shows 38,467 incidents of crime against women in UP. These include kidnapping and abduction, dowry deaths and cruelty by husband.

Police said the girl was sleeping with her 10-year-old sister outside her house when she was kidnapped and raped.

The family was sleeping on the courtyard, a common practice in rural areas of the country, to escape the humid conditions inside the house.

“When it started raining around 1 am, they woke up. They found their daughter was missing and alert villagers. Just then we saw a man running into the dark and we chased him,” said Jagpal Pradhan, the village head.

Pradhan said the girl, youngest of five siblings, was found in the bushes near her house in a sub-conscious state, bloodied and without clothes.

The villagers informed the police and took the girl to a nearby private hospital where they could not find a doctor.

“We had to go to the Hapur city hospital as the nearest hospital did not have any doctor at night. For two hours, she did not get any treatment. She was then referred to the government hospital in Meerut,” he said.

Angry villagers blocked the highway for over two hours on Saturday morning. “It was only after district magistrate Anil Dhingra came and assured us of medical care and speedy justice, we unblocked the highway,” said Pradhan.

Hapur superintendent of police Alankrita Singh said an FIR has been lodged against unknown persons under section 376 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and SC/ST acts.

“We suspect it was done by a local, a family member or a friend who knew the victim. One suspect has been detained and is being questioned. The girl is out of danger and we have spoken to her. She has given us some leads though we are not pushing her as she is in trauma,” said Singh.

Singh said the father lodged the complaint but did not specify about the number of persons involved.

“The girl’s condition is stable and she is out of danger,” she said.