Minor blinded for resisting rape

BHAGALPUR: A 13-year-old girl lost her vision in one eye for resisting rape at Pokhariya village of Naugacchia sub-division in Bhagalpur, 230km east of Patna.

The accused, Genu Sharma, 22, has been arrested.

The girl, a resident of Katihar, had come to visit her grandparents at Pokhariya village, when the incident took place on March 6. Acting on the complaint filed by her aunt, the police registered a case the following day.

The victim had gone to the field for ablutions in the evening, when the accused tried to rape her.

The girl raised an alarm, which attracted the attention of some villagers who rushed to her rescue. This angered the accused, who reportedly pierced a nail into her left eye.

The girl was undergoing treatment at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital (JLNMCH), Bhagalpur, where she was referred to from the Naugacchia sub-division hospital.

JLNMCH superintendent Dr Ram Charitra Mandal said, “The cornea of the girl’s left eye has been damaged. There is blood in her eyes now. We will run an urltrasound on her eye, but chances of restoration of her vision are bleak.”

Confirming the incident, station house officer (SHO) of Gopalpur police station, Shiv Kumar Yadav said the accused had been arrested.

“He held the girl by her hand and tried to drag her with the motive to rape her. The girl had come to meet her grandparents a week before the incident,” the SHO added.

THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER OF GOPALPUR POLICE STATION SAID THE ACCUSED HAD BEEN ARRESTED