Police on Sunday arrested two persons in Ganjam district on charges of gang-raping a seven-year-old girl and causing grievous injury to her by slitting her throat when she put up a resistance. The accused, who were drunk, also attacked her with bricks. One of the accused was badly beaten up by the villagers after the incident.
Last Thursday, the girl was playing with her younger brother outside her aunt's house in a village under Golanthara police station area of Ganjam when she went near a culvert outside her village to attend nature’s call. The two accused - Rutu Behera and Hemant Behera - dragged her under the culvert and tried to rape her.
"The two accused were drunk. When she raised an alarm, they slit her throat with a sharp object. The two accused also attacked her with a broken piece of brick causing severe injuries on her head, face and ears," said Berhampur additional SP Trinath Patel.
Some villagers spotted her lying in a pool of blood at one end of the village after a few hours and subsequently they informed the police.
Police said the girl who was first admitted to the MKCG medical college and hospital in Berhampur and later shifted to the SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack is now stable.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the girl who was first admitted to the MKCG medical college and hospital in Berhampur and later shifted to the SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack is now stable.
{{/usCountry}}The additional SP said a case against the two accused has been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and Sections 365/366, 376 (D)(B), 307 and 341 of the IPC.
Police have recovered the blood-stained brick from the spot.
The spurt in incidences of violence against children has raised serious concerns about their safety in the state.
In July last, a five-year-old girl in Nayagarh was allegedly raped and murdered following which the state government formed a SIT to probe the matter.
As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures, cases against minor children in Odisha have been steadily rising since 2017, While altogether 3,185 cases on crime against children were registered in the state in 2017, the cases increased to 5,217 in 2018 and 7,012 in 2019. The NCRB report says that the state’s conviction report in such cases stood at a measly 17.6% in 2019.