Minor raped, burnt alive in J’khand SC Women Lawyers Association seeks chemical castration for child rapists
DALTONGANJ: A minor girl was allegedly raped and later burnt alive by the accused and his henchmen who were apparently enraged over the village panchayat imposing a penalty of ₹50,000 on them on Friday for the crime committed the night before in Chatra district, the police said.
Before setting the Class 8 student on fire on Friday, the accused and his henchmen brutally thrashed the girl’s parents during the hearing at the kangaroo court, forcing them to run for their life, eyewitnesses told the police. The horrifying incident took place at Raja Kendua village under the Itkhori police station in Chatra district soon after the kangaroo court, convened by the local Mukhiya and others on Friday, had passed an order to pay a fine to the girl’s family and asked the accused to do sit-ups, police said quoting the villagers.
According to the family members of the 16-year-old victim, the accused had earlier abducted the victim from her cousin’s home and raped her before letting her go. The girl had gone to attend a marriage ceremony at her cousin’s home in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.
The deceased’s father said, “After the incident, we approached the village elders who suggested holding a panchayat in the village on Friday morning to decide the punishment. When the panchayat imposed a cash penalty of ₹50,000, the accused and his men got infuriated and started thrashing us. We ran away to save our lives. However, when we returned after half an hour, we found our daughter burnt and dead inside our home.”
Deputy superintendent of police Pitamber Singh Kherwar said, “One of the accused raped the victim after forcibly lifting her from her relative’s house the previous night. The panchayat was convened to settle the issue on Friday when the accused and others thrashed the girl’s parents and set her on fire. She died on the spot.” Police have launched a manhunt to nab the culprits. HYDERABAD: A 60-year-old rickshaw puller accused of raping a nine-year-old girl in Dachepalli of Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district on Wednesday allegedly committed suicide on Friday, police said.
Officials said the body of Annam Subbaiah was found hanging from a tree in an agricultural field near Amaralingeshwara Swamy temple between Daida and Telikutla villages.
Guntur Police, who launched a manhunt for the man who fled after the crime, said they got a hint about his suicide after examining his call data record. They said Subbaiah told one of his relatives that he had committed a crime and was ashamed of it. “My son is paying the penalty for my heinous crime. I don’t like to live anymore. I will be visible to you only in the form of a dead body,” Subbaiah allegedly told his relative. The incident turned political as YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy held CM N Chandrababu Naidu responsible for the incident and said the accused could be an activist of ruling Telugu Desam Party.
The incident triggered massive protests in Dachepalli as people staged a sit-in on Addanki-narketpalli state highway. NEWDELHI: Close on the heels of the government promulgating an ordinance that provides for death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12, the Supreme Court Women Lawyers Association (SCWLA) has made a representation to the Prime Minister’s Office, seeking chemical castration as additional punishment for child rapists.
The PMO has forwarded the petition to the Union women and child development (WCD) secretary, directing the ministry to take appropriate action. “….Reply may be sent to the petitioner and a copy of the same may be uploaded on the portal,” reads the PMO’S April 26 communication to the ministry.
Mahalakshmi Pavani, senior advocate and SCWLA president said, “Though, following the ordinance, courts can pronounce death penalty on those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12, an additional punishment of chemical castration will act as a deterrent.”
Chemical castration involves injecting anti-androgens in a person, which lowers the level of testosterone — the male hormone — in the body, reducing sex drive and the capacity to get aroused. It is a reversible process, if injections are stopped.
A senior WCD ministry official said they would examine the representation.
In its petition, the SCWLA also said the term “child” required to be defined.
“Definition of child must include both small girls and boys between age group of 0-10 years. Because in the recent past there have been uncountable incidents where small boys have been sexually exploited and raped and have suffered untold pain and agony,” reads the representation.
The April 22 ordinance came in the aftermath of the brutal rape of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir and the rape of a 16-year-old girl in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh.
ENRAGED OVER THE PANCHAYAT DIKTAT TO PAY ₹50,000 AS FINE FOR THE RAPE, THE MEN SET HER ON FIRE