Darbhanga rape, murder: NHRC seeks Bihar’s reply

THE MINOR GIRL WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED ON MARCH 1 AND DIED 16 DAYS LATER DESPITE RECEIVING MEDICAL TREATMENT

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a case on Wednesday in which a 13-yearold girl was raped and murdered in Darbhanga district of Bihar, an official said.

The victim had been assaulted on March 1, 2024 and had died 16 days later despite receiving medical treatment, sources familiar with the development said.

The Commission has issued notices to chief secretary (CS) and the director general of police (DGP) of the state, seeking a detailed report within six weeks, including the status of the investigation.

It was reported that the local panchayat and the victim’s family had initially settled the matter and the accused was asked to pay a sum of Rs 1.25 lakh to the family members of the victim.

Later, the police were alerted, leading to the retrieval of her body from the cremation ground for autopsy.

“A first information report (FIR) has already been filed by the victim’s family and that the culprit will be nabbed soon,”said a senior police official on Wednesday.

According to an NHRC press release, the police failed to know till the death of the 13-year-old rape victim and that her parents and the village Panchayat tried to settle the case by asking her tormentor to pay

Rs 1.25 lakh to the family of the victim.

“Reportedly, after receiving the amount, the victim’s family sent her to the house of the accused saying nobody would marry her. She stayed with the accused for 5 days before being thrown out. Subsequently, she was sent by her parents to her elder sister’s house where she died 16 days after her sexual assault on 1st March, 2024”, added the NHRC release.

Station house officer (SHO) of Bajitpur police station, Manish Kumar, said that an FIR (no. 12/24), dated March 17, was lodged upon the statement of victim’s family when police reached the cremation ground to retrieve her body for a postmortem report follwing a tipoff.

When contacted, the sub divisional police officer (SDPO) of Benipur, Ashutosh Kumar, said that soon after the incident, the victim’s family was persuaded to lodge an FIR.