Video Editor: Ashutosh Bharadwaj
Protests erupted in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur on 29 June after a man allegedly abducted a minor girl and raped her before attempting to kill her. The protesters kept the market area of the city closed, with the bar association refusing to represent the accused, reported PTI.
The incident occurred on the evening of 26 June. The accused, identified as Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20), was arrested late on 27 June, a police official told PTI.
On 29 June, a second man, Asif (24), was arrested from Madarpura locality of the city after Irfan named him his accomplice, additional superintendent of police S S Kanesh told PTI.
Asif, a construction worker, admitted to raping the girl, Kanesh added.
According to police, both suspects have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act, reported PTI.
Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan, who visited the victim on Friday, 29 June, said that her condition was “improving.” Addressing the media, he said:
The case should be heard in court soon and the accused should be hanged till death for the heinous crime he committed.
A day after Chauhan’s visit, the CSP of Mandsaur, Mohan Shukla, announced that a Special Investigation Team had been formed to look into the case.
What Happened on 26 June
“On 26 June evening, when the minor was waiting for her family members outside her school in order to go home, Irfan abducted her. He took her to the bus stand area and allegedly raped her in the bushes near Laxman Darwaja,” Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh told reporters.
The accused tried to kill her by slitting her throat using a knife, he added.
The police has also recovered his blood-stained clothes, a report in NDTV quoted Manoj Singh, Mandsaur Superintendent of police as saying.
The matter came to light when the minor’s grandfather reportedly went to pick her up from school, but was informed that she had already left. On being unable to find her, her parents lodged a missing person complaint, following which probe was initiated.
The minor girl is currently undergoing treatment at the state-run MY Hospital in Indore and doctors told PTI that she is out of danger.
Locals Demand Justice for Minor
Condemning the incident, local residents demanded capital punishment for the accused and as a mark of protest, the market area in the city remained shut on Thursday, 28 June.
The Mandsaur District Bar Association (MDBA), which convened an emergency meeting on Thursday, resolved that no lawyer would defend the accused.
MDBA President Jaideep Singh told PTI that they have petitioned the district judge asking him to try the case in a fast track court.
He added that a team of 100 lawyers would be made available to fight the case for the victim.
A large number of local Muslims, led by Shahar Qazi (city head pontiff) Asif, petitioned Indore SP to ensure that the accused receives capital punishment.
Expressing his grief over the incident, Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted:
Condemning the incident, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath tweeted that innocent girls continued to face sexual abuse in the state.
"In a latest survey, women in India are found to be insecure. MP is infamous in the country for recording the largest number of rapes already. When would such incidents stop? When are our sisters and daughters going to get a secure environ?" he tweeted.
(Wit inputs from PTI and NDTV.)
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