Reports of two minors being raped serve as stark reminders to us of the disturbing reality of violence against women and minors in our society. The two incidents of rape have emerged from MP and Maharashtra with both victims being minors.
Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
In MP’s Ujjain, a 12-year-old child was found unclothed and bleeding after a horrific rape. She had been trying to seek help in this state by going door to door of people’s homes, but nobody reached out to help her. One man even callously shooed her away as she approached him for assistance. These incidents was captured by a CCTV camera on Badnagar road, approximately 15 kilometres from Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The young girl eventually managed to reach an ashram where a priest at the ashram immediately suspected that she had been subjected to sexual violence. He proceeded to quickly covered her with a towel and rushed her to the district hospital where medical examination confirmed that she had been subjected to rape.
Given the seriousness of her injuries, the girl was urgently transferred to a hospital in Indore. When questioned by a senior police officer about her name and address the traumatised child could not answer or speak clearly.
A case of rape has been registered against unidentified perpetrators under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Ujjain’s police chief, Sachin Sharma, has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify and apprehend the culprits. The officer also mentioned that the girl could not provide her place of origin however her accent suggested she may be from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh and thus the police has also urged people to come forward with any information that could help in the investigation.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
In another harrowing incident of violence, an eight-year old was raped in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area. A 53 year old man has been arrested in relation to the case. According to ANI, the victim and her mother used to live in the same building as the accused. The mother used to leave the child with the accused man when she went out for work.
The child one day complained of the abuse to the mother, who went and lodged a complaint in the local police station. The accused has been charged under Section 376 of the IPC as well as the POCSO Act.
8-year-old girl allegedly raped in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area. The accused is a 53-year-old man. The accused and the victim lived in the same building and the girl’s mother used to leave the child at the accused’s home while going to work as there was nobody at home to take care of…
— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2023
Maharashtra continues to lead with the number of POCSO cases that are lying in wait with over 33000 in number. In fact, this is not just unique to the state, but overall a growing number of cases filed under the act have been lying pending – with over 170% increase since 2016 to 2023, according to The Times of India. With this scenario, where does this leave the children of young India?
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