A week on, no arrest yet in rape of 4-yr-old girl in Kutch

On Tuesday, Ibrahim Halepotra, the president of Akhil Kutch Sunni Muslim Hit Rakhsak Committee, wrote a letter to the district collector demanding police action against the accused and alleged inefficiency in policing.

One week on, police are yet to make any arrest in the rape of a four-year-old girl of migrant workers in Kutch Gandhidham.

Around 5 pm on May 20 when the child was playing outside her rented house, an unknown person picked her up, took her to nearby bushes and raped her. The girl was found by her mother, bleeding in the bushes. The victim’s parents are daily wage labourers from West Bengal and have been stuck in Kutch Gandhidham for the past two months due to Covid-19 lockdown.

On Tuesday, Ibrahim Halepotra, the president of Akhil Kutch Sunni Muslim Hit Rakhsak Committee, wrote a letter to the district collector demanding police action against the accused and alleged inefficiency in policing.

“The incident occurred around 5 pm when there was sufficient daylight so this shows that the criminals are not afraid of police. The victim’s family hails from West Bengal and they are stuck here in a crisis period. Yet a gruesome incident occurs and the police have not been able to even crack a lead in this case. Yesterday we had gone to meet the collector and from now on, we will start pressurising the police,” said Halepotra.

The girl was admitted to a hospital where according to police, injuries were found on her body.

Taking cognizance of the victim’s mother’s complaint, police have booked a case of rape against unknown person under Indian penal code section 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) and sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Police have meanwhile offered a reward of Rs. 10,000 on any information on the alleged rapist. “The child has been discharged from the hospital and sent home. We have not made any arrest yet as our probe is going on,” said D B Parmar, in charge officer, Bhachau police station.