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Brother, uncle rape a visually-challenged minor, police register FIR
Nagri police station officer-in-charge Ram Narayan Singh said that after Diwali this year, the girl’s elder brother, Suraj Lohra, 20, and her uncle Suraj Lohra, 45, had raped the minor on several occasions.
The city police on Wednesday registered a case against the brother and an uncle of a visually challenged 15-year-old girl for allegedly raping her repeatedly.
Nagri police station officer-in-charge Ram Narayan Singh said that after Diwali this year, the girl’s elder brother, Suraj Lohra, 20, and her uncle Suraj Lohra, 45, had raped the minor on several occasions. The officer said that the girl’s father was an alcoholic, and did not respond to her repeated pleas for help. She then approached some neighbours, who informed the police. A case was registered on Wednesday, and the police conducted the medical examination of the girl on Thursday.
“We have registered a case against the two under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police are conducting raids to arrest them,” said Singh. He added that the minor’s statement would be shortly registered before a magistrate. The victim, whose mother died a few years ago, was sent to a children’s home. The accused uncle and the brother were daily wage workers, he said.
Other crimes against minors
On December 17 (Monday), six armed assailants had gang-raped a minor; police soon arrested five of the accused. On Wednesday, the sixth accused Manoj alias Mota surrendered before a city court.
Sexual violence against minors by relatives included a case where a girl was raped by her stepfather at Doranda in September, and another girl was raped by her brother-in-law the same month.
As per data released by the police, from 2014 to 2017, there were 2,101 cases registered in Jharkhand for offences (of sexual violence and trafficking) against minors, of which there were 221 cases from the city capital. Police had chargesheeted 1,631 people across the state. The other cities that reported the most incidents of offences against minors were Dhanbad (189), Bokaro (176), Jamshedpur (125), Chaibasa (119), and Giridih (116).
Senior superintendent of police Anish Gupta said that as per the Pocso Act, police had to complete the investigation within 60 days. “Cases under the Act are being monitored during the crime review meetings. The investigating officers have to finish the probe and file a chargesheet within the stipulated time,” he said.
In July, the Jharkhand High Court had directed the state government to select 1,000 sensitive cases, including those registered under the Pocso Act, for speedy trial under the special project.
