Chhattisgarh: 13-year-old assaulted, burning coal shoved into her mouth

Police have arrested four workers of an ashram in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old girl with a burning log and shoving pieces of burning coal into her mouth in an incident last week, authorities said on Friday

Police have arrested four workers of an ashram in Chhattisgarh’s Mahasamund district for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old girl with a burning log and shoving pieces of burning coal into her mouth in an incident last week, authorities said on Friday.

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The minor was taking part in a bhog ceremony when the alleged assault took place. Her condition is stable and she is undergoing treatment at a hospital, police added.

Bagbahara station house officer (SHO) Swaraj Tripathi said the incident took place at Jai Gurudev Manas Ashram, Paterapali, on February 24 but came to light on February 28 when the victim’s brother approached police with a complaint.

Police said efforts are on to ascertain if the ashram was running legally because it reportedly conducted occult practices. The head of the ashram, Ramesh Thakur, was among those arrested.

In his complaint, the girl’s brother said the two of them visited the ashram on February 20 to seek a “cure” for an illness using occult practices. He said that on February 24, he returned home due to his exams but his sister stayed back.

“The girl’s brother said that on February 24, three ashram workers – Naresh Patel, Bhojram Sahu and Rakesh Diwan – got into a tiff with the girl after she insisted on participating in the bhog ceremony. They got angry and abused her, and allegedly assaulted her with a burning log. They also put burning coal into her mouth,” Tripathi said.

The minor, who suffered severe burn injuries, was taken to Chandi hospital by other ashram workers where doctors said she could have died had she not arrived for treatment on time, he added.

Speaking to reporters, the girl’s brother said the workers accused her of adding poison to the bhog. “They accused my sister of adding poison to the bhog and thrashed and tortured her. We thought of them as gods but they turned out to be evil,” he said.

A case under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 294 (obscene acts), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code was registered and the four workers arrested, the SHO said. “The administration is also checking if the ashram is running legally as it is reportedly engaging in occult practices,” he said.

There was no immediate reaction available from the ashram authorities.