Una (HP), Apr 6 (PTI) A six-year-old migrant girl was allegedly kept tied to the stairs with ropes as punishment for plucking guava from an ex-serviceman’s garden in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district, officials said on Monday.
Purported videos of the alleged torture shot by passersby spread widely in and around Bahdla village, where the incident happened on Sunday, sparked outrage, bringing it to the notice of the administration.
The victim has been rescued and undergone medical checkup.
The ex-serviceman, who is accused of hitting the girl too while she was kept tied to stairs of his house, has been called for questioning by police and the Child Welfare Committee on Monday. Another video surfaced in which he is apologising for his action.
The administration sprang into action after a video of the incident went viral on social media following which a case was registered, police said.
The incident came to light when Rohit Jaswal, a Merchant Navy captain, was passing by and saw the girl tied to a staircase inside a house and immediately rushed to intervene.
Jaswal asked the ex-serviceman to release the girl, but he remained adamant and refused. Later, some youths recorded the girl tied up in his house, police said.
A purported video shows a man justifying tying up the girl, saying she was being punished for “stealing” guava. Amid cries, the girl is seen pleading the passerby shooting the video “uncle save me”.
The video surfaced on Sunday, triggering massive public outrage. Jaswal rescued the girl from the clutches of the accused, and safely escorted her back to her home. He also alerted the police and Child Helpline immediately, police said.
When a Child Helpline team arrived, the ex-serviceman immediately apologised for his actions. The victim was then sent for a medical examination at the Regional Hospital in Una.
The matter was being treated with utmost seriousness and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jatin Lal and Superintendent of Police (SP) Sachin Hiremath have issued directives for swift action, police said.
A case under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act has been registered and thorough investigation into the matter is underway and strict action will be taken against the guilty, the SP said.
The accused ex-serviceman is heard seeking apology in another video that surfaced on Monday. In the video, he purportedly seen admitting to tying up the girl and saying that he was not thinking clearly. He said he will not repeat such actions again. PTI COR BPL SKY SKY
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