An 18-year-old man and eight minors allegedly gang-raped a 10-year-old girl in Haryana. The accused went ahead to shoot the sexual assault and upload the video online, making it viral.
The incident gained attention after the video reached the family of the Class V student through a WhatsApp forward, the police said. The kin immediately reached the cops to file an FIR, following which, the accused were arrested.
Out of the 9 accused, 5 are told to be close relatives of the victim.
The incident dates back to May 24th when the 10-year-old was kidnapped from outside her house while she was playing, as per the police complaint registered by the girl’s family. The student was then gang-raped in an empty government school building in the Rewari district of Haryana. The girl was also getting blackmailed after the 18-year-old had recorded it on camera and 2 minors forwarded it to others, making it viral.
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Post learning about the assault, the family filed the complaint on June 8th, officials said.
Hansraj, DSP of Rewari (headquarters) said, “The boys took the girl to the government school near her house. They raped her and recorded the incident. They threatened the girl of dire consequences if she told anybody about the assault. After circulating the video, they started blackmailing the victim.” He added that the victim and the 5 accused minors, who are aged between 10-12 years, will be counselled.
The main accused was sent to judicial custody after he was brought before Rewari’s local court. The 5 juveniles were sent to an observation home due to their age. 3 minors, who were involved in shooting the video, have been arrested and will be sent to an observation home on June 10th, the police said.
All have been booked under IPC Sections 376DB (gang rape on woman under 12 years), sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act sections of Information Technology (IT) Act and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
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The boys raped the girl after the 18-year-old encouraged them to watch porn, a cop who interrogated the accused said.
Haryana state commission for protection of child rights (HSCPCR) chairperson Jyoti Bainda said, “It was a horrific incident. The victim did not confide in her parents until a month and a half after the incident. We will provide a support person to look after the girl. As all the accused were known to the girl, I have sought a status report of her neighbourhood. If needed, we will shift the girl to a children’s home.”