The child was found dumped and unconscious in a Bharatpur forest.
Even before the echoes of cheering Indians, hailing death penalty for the four gang-rape accused, could fade, a four-year-old girl child was abducted and reportedly raped in a moving train, late on Saturday night. She was later thrown off the train in a forest area in Bharatpur’s Takha village near Rarepur railway station.
The child was found lying unconscious along with an elderly relative, about 70 years, by a police patrol team. The girl is said to have been travelling with the old lady from Bihar to Bikaner, where her parents work in a private factory. The shocking incident took place on board the Patna-Bikaner express at around 11.30 pm on Saturday.
The two were rushed to Mori Char Bagh Female Hospital in Bharatpur where the girl and her guardian are under doctors’ observation. “They both are in deep shock; the child has been unable to utter even a single word,” police told dna, adding that they are yet to file an FIR.
“Prima facie, it appears that the child had been raped and thrown in the forest. Doctors have said that her genitals are swollen and they have taken the FSL samples, the results of which are awaited,” Alok Sharma, chairman Bal Kalyan Samiti (Bharatpur), told dna.
“We have also informed the girl’s parents. The police are trying to talk to the child but she is so scared that she is hardly being able to speak,” added Sharma. “We can’t say as of now whether the child was raped or not. We are waiting for her to respond. The lady with the child hasn’t been able to tell anything either. We are waiting for the reports to come,” said Lakhan Singh, SHO, Rarepur.
Notably, cases of minors being raped were reported last year in Rajasthan, fourth highest in country.
The incident brings into sharp focus the concerns raised by women’s groups on Friday. While the groups had welcomed steps taken by the authorities over the last nine months vis-à-vis the December 16 gang-rape, including a stricter law to tackle sex crimes, they said these measures were not enough to change patriarchal mindsets which see women as inferior.
“Eliminating these men will not eliminate the culture of rape. The deep misogyny of potential assailants, as well as many actors within the criminal justice system needs to shift,” said Karuna Nundy, a Supreme Court lawyer and prominent activist.
Organisations, such as global campaign group Avaaz, say the only way to reverse such attitudes, which lie at the root of gender crimes, is through a massive public education campaign across India.
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