An 11-year-old speech-and-hearing-impaired girl was brutally raped in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur district. She was found unconscious and with serious injuries. Police have arrested an accused after an encounter during which he suffered a bullet injury in his leg.
The girl had been missing since Tuesday evening and her family members had been looking for her. Last morning, she was found naked and injured in a field. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, which referred her to Meerut for better treatment. Police have registered an FIR under charges of rape of a minor and relevant sections of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Police scanned footage from CCTV cameras in the area and identified Dan Singh (24), a resident of the same village, as a suspect. When cops tried to take him into custody, he opened fire and was injured in retaliatory firing, police said.
Dr Anju Singh, who conducted the girl’s medical examination, told The Times of India, “This is a clear case of rape by one or more persons as there were multiple injuries on her private parts. Her face had been struck with a blunt object, leaving it swollen. She was terrified and unable to explain anything. It is one of the most horrific sexual crimes I have seen.”
Rampur police chief Vidya Sagar Mishra said the girl’s mother submitted an application to the police, informing that her daughter, who cannot speak or hear, was sexually assaulted. “We registered a case and arranged for the girl’s medical examination. Three teams were formed to track down the accused. When we tried to arrest him, he opened fire at the police team. Police fired in self-defence and he suffered a bullet injury. We have electronic evidence against the accused. The girl is being treated,” he said. The senior officer said that CCTV footage shows the accused talking to the girl outside her home. “He then convinces her into accompanying him somewhere where she was raped.”