Spurt in juvenile rape on minor girls in Chhattisgarh, tribal girl killed after being raped by cousin

RAIPUR: Juvenile rapes on minor girls in Chhattisgarh refuse to cease as another incident of a minor boy raping and brutally killing his 5-year-old cousin has been reported from Jashpur district on Sunday. The little girl was accompanying her cousin for cattle grazing when the boy pounced upon her in isolated forest and bludgeoned her head leading to her death.

He later threw her body under a waterfall. Police have booked him under POCSO Act .

According to a police officer in Jashpur, the tribal girl was missing since Friday evening and her parents were looking out for her everywhere when she didn’t return home as per the routine schedule. They were oblivious about the girl leaving house with cousin for forest while the juvenile acted concerned and went out to search the girl along with her parents.

Hailing from Rajpur village in Baghicha, the minor was last seen with her 14-year-old cousin brother walking towards the forest for cattle grazing. Her parents reported missing complaint to police and a search began with interrogation of the boy.

Police sensed that the boy was trying to mislead and giving varied answers to twisted questions. On pressurizing him, the minor boy confessed to committing the crime and broke down stating that he has raped and killed his little cousin sister.

The juvenile guided police to the spot where he had abandoned girl’s body on Sunday. He told police that she would often accompany him to forest for cattle grazing and this time he forced himself upon her on finding one isolated patch.

The juvenile told police that in fear of getting caught on girl’s complaint, he decided to kill her. He smashed her head with a big rock as she cried in shock, and left her dead under a waterfall in dense forest.

The juvenile was arrested under sections of POCSO Act even as girl’s parents remain in trauma and rage against him.

Incidents of minor rape by minor and murder on resisting rape are on the rise in state even as Chhattisgarh has witnessed at least four such cases in past one month.

On July 15, a woman was killed in Surajpur district and her body was found near a canal, her cousin brother tried to force himself upon her to which she resisted and slapped him. The man got furious and hacked her to death with an axe.

In Koriya district on July 8, a five-year-old was abducted, raped and almost murdered by a 17-year-old who killed her little brother to erase him as witness. The girl was thrown into a well by juvenile but was somehow rescued, though she lost her brother in the incident.

Another minor girl was set ablaze in Mungeli district for resisting rape attempt by a man who barged into her house when she was alone. The girl had sustained 95 percent burns and she succumbed to injuries at hospital after two days.

Similar incident took place in Bemetara district on June 22 when Class VII girl died under same circumstances after she foiled rape attempt by two persons including a minor and they set her ablaze. She was admitted at Ambedkar hospital in Raipur and died on June 24.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)