Labourer held for raping 11-year-old Samana girl

The police on Thursday claimed to have solved the ‘sensational rape case’ of an 11-yearold girl who was raped when she was participating in langar (community kitchen) for the Shaheedi Jor Mela at Kullaran village under the Samana segment on December 26.

Addressing a press conference, Patiala SP (investigation) Paramjit Singh Goraya said on the basis of the finger prints, the statement of the girl and using the sniffer dogs, the police have found that Shivji alias Neetu (27) was the culprit and had raped the girl by taking her to a nearby agriculture field.

He said the rape was committed on the night of December 26 when the girl had gone to prepare “langar” for pilgrims of Shaheedi Jor Mela. “In shock, the girl reported the matter to her mother, who brought it to the notice of the police. The girl was later admitted to the hospital for treatment,” the SSP said.

“After registering FIR under Section 376 (rape) and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012, the police recorded the statement of the victim in which she narrated that someone had called the accused with the name of Shivji,” said Goraya.

“Thereafter, the police took some villagers into confidence and took the photographs of similar age group males who were present at the langar. The police also used the sniffer dogs and took some finger prints from the place of the crime. The victim indentified the accused from the photograph, after which, the police started conducting raids and nabbed the accused,” he added.

“Though the accused is married, he is living separately. His wife has filed for divorce, as he is a habitual drunkard,” said the SSP, adding that the accused had confessed to the crime.

“The police have decided to involve him in investigation to collect scientific evidences to make a foolproof case against him,” said Goraya.