Bhopal: Citing encroachment, the administration of Satna district, Madhya Pradesh, Saturday demolished the houses of the two men arrested for the gangrape of a 13-year-old girl. The crime allegedly took place Thursday afternoon.
The accused, Atul Badolia (30) and Ravindra Kumar Ravi (31), who were arrested an hour after a police complaint by the survivor’s mother Friday, had both been working for the trust of the famous Sharda Devi temple in the district’s Maihar block since 2017. The trust fired them soon after the crime came to light, Suresh Jadhav, sub divisional magistrate (SDM) of Maihar block, told ThePrint.
As a team from the district administration accompanied by the police arrived to demolish their homes, their families demanded a proper investigation before such action.
SDM Jadhav said to ThePrint Saturday, “The family urged that the investigation should be completed before demolition but the houses were razed as they were constructed without proper permission from the Nagar Nigam. A notice was issued and their houses were razed today.”
The two accused, who have been booked under Section 366 (kidnapping), 376 (D) (gangrape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), were produced before the court and sent to judicial custody till 8 August.
Police said while they are yet to receive medical reports confirming it, prima facie, it appears to be a case of gang-rape.
According to the police, the minor was raped, had multiple bite marks and was brutalised. She was found in a nearby jungle by her mother who took her to the Maihar police station, from where she was rushed to the Maihar civil hospital. After preliminary treatment, she was referred to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Rewa.
According to district officials, the girl has had a 1.5-hour surgery and is in stable condition now.
The crime
The girl lives near the temple with her widowed mother and a younger sister. The mother sells flowers to make ends meet and the family depends on alms from the temple. She stepped out Thursday at around 3 pm to fetch water from the temple when she was allegedly spotted by the accused, said the police.
They allegedly took her to a forest area about a kilometre from her house, raped her and left her there. Meanwhile, her mother continued to look for her and found her about 18 hours later, at around 9 am Friday. The girl was conscious and identified the two men as her assailants, according Maihar town inspector Animesh Diwedi.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed grief over the crime. “I have asked the police that no criminal be spared. The police have arrested the culprit,” he tweeted Friday afternoon.
मैहर में बेटी के साथ दुष्कर्म की जानकारी मिली है, मन पीड़ा से भरा हुआ है, व्यथित हूं।
मैंने पुलिस को निर्देश दिए हैं कि कोई भी अपराधी बचना नहीं चाहिए
पुलिस ने अपराधियों को गिरफ्तार कर लिया है ।
प्रशासन को निर्देश दिए हैं कि बेटी के समुचित इलाज की व्यवस्था की जाए ।
कोई भी…
— Shivraj Singh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) July 28, 2023
Former chief minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath accused the state government for failing to provide security to women and girls in the state.
Taking to Twitter Friday, he wrote , “It has come to light that the minor girl was subjected to brutality seen in the Nirbhaya rape case. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s government has time and again failed to provide a secure environment for women and girls of MP. I urge the CM to ensure that the girl not only gets the best of the treatment, but her family is also given financial assistance of Rs 1 crore.”
मैहर में छोटी बच्ची के साथ दुष्कर्म की घटना अत्यंत निंदनीय है। बच्ची के साथ निर्भया कांड की तरह अमानवीय व्यवहार किये जाने की बात भी सामने आ रही है। प्रदेश में आए दिन बच्चियों के साथ अत्याचार की घटनाओं ने साबित कर दिया है कि शिवराज सरकार बहन-बेटियों को सुरक्षा देने में पूरी तरह…
— Kamal Nath (@OfficeOfKNath) July 28, 2023
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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