A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped, tortured, and gang-raped repeatedly over two months in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district. According to the police, four men were involved in the crime, and while one has been arrested, three others are still at large.
As per the complaint filed by the survivor's family, the girl was abducted on January 2, while she was on her way to a tailor. The accused-identified as Salman, Zubair, Rashid, and Arif - allegedly forced her into a car, made her unconscious using an intoxicant, and took her to an undisclosed location, where they confined her in a room and repeatedly assaulted her.
Station House Officer (SHO) Bhagatpur police station Sanjay Kumar Panchal said that according to a complaint lodged by her family members, during the girl's captivity "the accused allegedly burned an 'Om' tattoo on her hand with acid, forcibly fed her meat, and subjected her to further torture".
The ordeal continued for two months before she somehow managed to escape and return home on March 2. Her family immediately lodged a police complaint, after which a case was registered at the Bhagatpur police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Kunwar Akash Singh confirmed the incident, stating that one of the accused, Salman, was arrested on Tuesday and sent to jail. Efforts are underway to track down the remaining suspects. Meanwhile, the girl's family has alleged that they are being threatened and pressured to withdraw the case.
