E-Paper
Alwar victim’s father says rapist took advantage of infant’s playful nature
19-year-old Pintu Somwal is accused of raping the minor on a school ground nearby.
Lying on a hospital bed in Alwar, the seven-month-old girl greets visitors with a wide toothless grin. She cackles with delight when lifted into their arms, and her expression sours only when they try placing her back.
“She is very lovable. She’ll play with anyone,” says her father, a daily-wage labourer from Harsana village in Alwar district, before his voice trails off. “Maybe that’s what he took advantage of...”
The person in question is Pintu Somwal, a 19-year-old neighbour accused of raping the minor on a school ground nearby. He was arrested and booked for rape under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act soon after the father lodged a complaint at the Laxmangarh police station on Wednesday night.
“I had gone to fetch water along with my mother-in-law and two daughters, leaving the child in my sister-in-law’s care,” says her mother. “But when I got back, she told me that Pintu had taken her.”
Back at their house in Harsana, her partially blind sister-in-law confirms the story.
“I stayed back at home, taking care of the girl and my own two-month-old daughter. Pintu came around 7 pm, asking for milk from the cattle we own. I told him to drop by later because there was nobody at home,” she says.
The seven-month-old was sitting on the floor and crying when the neighbour’s gaze fell on her. “Pintu asked if he could take her out to play. I said no, but he walked out with her anyway. I began screaming, but there was nobody around to hear me,” she says.
The girl’s relatives raised the alarm when they returned half an hour later. They decided to check the residence of Tinku Somwal, Pintu’s elder brother.
“When the girl’s grandmother turned up, I told her that he had not come home with the child. Pintu had left in a drunk state,” says Tinku.
It was around 8 pm that Tinku found his brother in a desolate part of the village, with the girl hoisted on his shoulders. “I took the child from him and handed her over to her mother. I knew nothing of what had transpired,” he says.
Even the mother did not notice anything wrong, at least initially. “My daughter seemed really quiet, and a power cut had plunged the house into darkness. Only later, after the lights came back, did I notice that she was soaked in blood,” she recalls.
Soon, news of the incident spread like wildfire, and somebody called the police. “When I found out what had happened, I locked Pintu inside our house. But my mother opened the door a little later, and he ran away. Police caught him before he could get too far,” says Tinku.
A local court remanded the accused in police custody for a day. “Pintu has confessed to the crime, and expressed remorse. When questioned, he said something came over him while he had the child in his arms,” says Laxmangarh station house officer Prahlad Sahay.
Pintu, a Brahmin, had married a girl from the same community two years ago. Educated till Class 7, he used to go around the village begging every Saturday. “My brother would drink, but he never did anything like this before,” says Tinku, tears welling up in his eyes. “He has ruined our family.”
At the Alwar hospital, the child’s twinkling eyes reflect none of the horror that befell her on that fateful evening of May 9. “I don’t know why he did that to my little girl,” her father wonders, watching the girl play innocently on the hospital bed. “Why would anybody do such a thing?
