'She saw him dragging her friend by her hair'

“He is the man who dragged my friend to the toilet,” shouted 10-year-old Geeta (name changed), pointing fingers at one of the four men asked to appear before a court on Saturday in the sexual abuse case at Arya Orphanage.

“He is the man who dragged my friend to the toilet,” shouted 10-year-old Geeta (name changed), pointing fingers at one of the four men asked to appear before a court on Saturday in the sexual abuse case at Arya Orphanage.

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The 10-year-old was there to record her statement in the rape and assault case of an 11-year-old girl from the same orphanage. Geeta’s courage in identifying the accused proved crucial as police arrested Navrattan, a guard at the orphanage.

“We had gone there to record her statement. Of the four staff members of the orphanage, she identified Navrattan immediately. Later, she recorded her statement in front of the magistrate, stating she saw him dragging the girl to the toilet,” Geeta’s father said.

Her statement was later collaborated with that of another girl to whom the minor had confessed that she was raped by Navrattan and a 14-year-old boy.

“She saw them dragging the girl by her hair. After that she went to attend her class and when she returned, the girl told my daughter that she was raped,” Geeta’s father said.

Geeta’s father claimed a staff member had tried to assault his daughter as well but she started shouting and that saved her. She has been in the orphanage for the past three years but after the death of the 11-year-old girl, her parents took her out.

“We had sent her to the orphanage thinking she will get a good education but we were mistaken,” he father added.