Minor gang-raped and burnt alive; culprits to face fast track court

The increasing number of crimes against women, particularly against the minors have yet another addition to the list.

Late Thursday night, a 15-year-old girl was gang-raped and burned to death by 2 local youths in the village of Jhujharpur in Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.

Police recovered the charred body of the victim early on Friday morning after being informed by her family members.

According to the police, the accused, Ravindra Kumar and Bhagat, barged into her house and then gang-raped her. They then set her on fire.

The duo also threatened her brother, who spotted both the accused fleeing his house after committing the crime, to kill him if he reported the matter to the police.

“Both the accused have been arrested. A probe is on into the incident,” the investigating officer said.

Madhya Pradesh home minister Bhupendra Singh said the case would be tried in the fast track court to ensure justice to the deceased and her family.

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OPPOSITION REACTS

This heinous crime has triggered a sharp reaction from the opposition Congress.

The incident took place on Thursday evening in Jujharpur village, which falls under Khurai assembly constituency, police said.

The constituency is represented by state home minister Bhupendra Singh, who blamed pornography and “perversity” for such incidents.

State Congress chief Kamal Nath described it as a brutal incident and said “the head of the state”, a reference to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, was busy with national politics and the Karnataka elections.

The police have said that her parents were in Bandri (around 25km from Sagar) to attend a function.

Slamming the BJP, Kamal Nath said one more innocent life had become a victim of rape

“…Such incidents are shameful for the state,” he said on Twitter.

“Incidents of rape and farmer suicides are on the rise in Madhya Pradesh and the head of the state is busy campaigning in Karnataka and national politics,” he added.

The home minister announced financial help of Rs 2 lakh to the family members and assured them of all possible help.

“I am leaving for the residence of the girl… Perversity in society is responsible for the rise in such incidents across the country. To an extent, porn sites are responsible for such incidents. We have shut down 21 such sites and also written to the Centre to take action in this regard,” Singh said.

Singh added that the state government had enacted tough laws to award death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years of age and fast-tracking the investigation and trial for such rape cases.

Chadhar has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).