HT Correspondent

India - IN A gruesome incident on the outskirts of the capital town, a deaf and dumb girl was allegedly raped at Majerh village under the Dhalli police station.
In another incident, a minor was allegedly raped in the Summerhill locality.

As per the FIR registered at the Dhalli police station by Naresh Kumar, his daughter was raped by Ashwani Kumar of the same village. The complainant alleged that Ashwani took advantage of the disability of his daughter and raped her. Naresh said his daughter had also conceived. The police have registered a case under sections 376 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code and have arrested Ashok Kumar.

In a separate incident in the town, a minor girl was allegedly raped in Summerhill locality of the town. The police report stated that a 14-year-old student of eighth class was raped by a university daily wager, Mukesh Kumar.

According to preliminary investigations conducted by the police, when the girl student returned from her school at about 10.30 am on Friday, Mukesh Kumar barged into the house and bolted the door from inside to rape her. The girl's parents were not at home that time.

A police official said Mukesh tied both the hands of the girl before raping her. When she raised an alarm, Mukesh covered her face with a piece of cloth. Mukesh also threatened the girl of dire consequence in case she reported the incident to her parents or to the police.

After committing the crime, Mukesh fled from the victim's house.

The girl narrated the incident to her mother when she returned home.

The parents of the girl lodged a complaint with the Boileauganj police station on Saturday evening. The police have registered a case under sections 376,342 and 452 of the IPC. However, the culprit is still at large.

Councillor of the Summerhill municipal ward Rajeev Thakur has sharply criticised the rape incident. Thakur alleged that the girl students in Shimla were unsafe as the incidents of crime against women were witnessing a rapid increase. He said anti-social elements in the town were targeting the girl students.

He said after the acid throwing incident in the town, the police had announced to increase vigil around the girls' educational institutions, but nothing happened on the ground. He said the police failure to arrest the culprit would invite an agitation from the people of the locality.

© HT Media Ltd. 2004