MP: 8-year-old girl sexually abuses younger child, says ‘bhaiyya’ taught her

As the child told her story, it became clear she had been sexually abused for nearly two months by the man she kept referring to as ‘bhaiyya’.

Katni district policemen running a routine check into what seemed to be an injury suffered by a child during sexually exploratory play at a government-run orphanage for girls were in for a nasty shock when they questioned the eight-year-old who inflicted the injury.

The child was sexually abused for nearly two months by a peon at an orphanage for under 6-year-olds where she was admitted earlier.

“Bhaiyya ne bola ye sehat ke liye achcha hai (brother said this is good for health),” is what the eight-year-old girl told policemen on Sunday.

At that moment, the policemen realised it was a case of rape of a minor. As the child told her story, it became clear she had been sexually abused for nearly two months by the man she kept referring to as ‘bhaiyya’.

This man was a peon at an orphanage for under 6-year-olds where she was admitted earlier. She was shifted to the current shelter when they discovered she was eight years old.

The accused, a 30-year-old, was arrested soon after.

The seven-year-old had suffered injury in her vagina when the older girl inserted her fingers. The bleeding girl was taken to the district hospital for treatment and the police informed.

A mental health expert said the older child’s behaviour was not uncommon under the circumstances. “A lot of time ragging continues in colleges because those who were ragged continue to rag. It is the same principle in this case,” said Dr Samir Parikh, director, department of mental health and behavioural sciences, Fortis Healthcare, Delhi.

The older girl lost her parents a few years ago and was begging on trains when she was rescued by Child Line.

Child rights activist Archana Sahay said, “I never came across such a case before this.”