Jalna
(Maharashtra), August 17: On Friday evening, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly
gang raped and filmed by two men at a village in Badnapur taluka of Jalna
district of Maharashtra. The incident took place when the victim was riding a
moped and was on her way to meet her friend in a neighbouring hamlet.
The girl was an adopted
child of a local priest. A farmer of the village had found the victim in a dishevelled
and unconscious state in a farm.
According to the
victim’s complaint, the two men had accosted her near a farm while she was on
her way; they forcibly dragged her into the orchard, then gagged and raped her.
They also recorded the act on their mobile phone and threatened the girl to
make the video viral if she shares her ordeal with anyone.
According to the
investigating police officer, both the culprits are married and even the victim
knew them by their names, as they live in a small village. However, the girl
had never interacted with them before.
Police also said
that when the second culprit came to know that the victim was hospitalised and
the police too had reached the hospital, he fled. The key accused thought that
fearing the social stigma, the girl would not tell anything to anyone, so he had
stayed back at the village.
The main accused
has been arrested by the police while a manhunt has been initiated for the
second one, and a probe is being carried out to ascertain if the video had already
been shared by the accused.
This horrendous
incident has triggered outrage with activists demanding a water-tight charge
sheet within a stipulated time and a fast track trial. They have threatened to take
to the roads if their demands were ignored.
“We have slapped
the accused with sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). One
accused has been arrested and on Sunday, the court remanded him in five day
custody,” said Shivaji Bantewad, Badnapur Police Inspector.