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16-year-old found dead, family accuses teacher of rape and murder in Raj
According to the complaint, the accused teacher illegally entered the house around midnight and raped the girl
The body of a 16-year-old Dalit girl was recovered on Monday from a water tank in Barmer district of Rajasthan, with the family of the deceased alleging that one of her schoolteachers raped and killed the minor, police said, adding that the suspect teacher was absconding.
According to the police, the incident took place in Bhakhasar police station area on Sunday night. Based on the complaint from the girl’s family, a first information report (FIR) was registered against the 30-year-old teacher, who taught Hindi in the minor’s school, for rape and murder.
“Family members alleged that the accused has been harassing the girl for some time and forcing her for a relationship,” Chohtan circle officer Sukhram Bishnoi said, citing the complaint. “The incident took place on Sunday night when most of the family members had gone to attend a wedding while leaving the girl and her younger brother with their grandmother at home.”
According to the complaint, the accused teacher illegally entered the house around midnight and raped the girl. “The family further alleged that the accused murdered her and disposed her body in a water tank before fleeing. When the girl’s brother could not find her, he started searching for her and spotted her body in the water tank,” the circle officer said.
Bishnoi further said the teacher’s advances towards the girl was in the knowledge of local villagers. “In the complaint, the family alleged that when villagers contacted him, the accused confessed to having committed the crime under the influence of alcohol,” he said.
An FIR was registered against the accused teacher, who belong to the same community as the deceased, under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act at the Bakhasar police station.
“The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. We are awaiting the autopsy report,” the circle officer said. “Efforts are being made to nab the accused, who is currently on the run.”
