Gujarat: Chargesheet filed in three-year-old girl's rape case

Valsad, September 6 (IANS): The Valsad district police in Gujarat have filed a chargesheet in the rape case of a three-year-old girl.

The incident took place on August 27 in Umargam town of Gujarat. The neighbour who was attacked was identified as Ghulam Mustafa, who subsequently fled the scene.

Following intense public outrage, police arrested Mustafa within an hour near Palghar, Maharashtra, before he managed to escape to Jharkhand. Police also filed a 470-page chargesheet against the accused within just nine days of the incident.

The incident sparked protests in the region, with local communities and Hindu organizations expressing their anger and demanding the strictest punishment for the perpetrator.

Valsad Police Commissioner Karanraj Vaghela said the police are working closely with the prosecution to ensure that daily court hearings speed up the process.

In addition, the POCSO court has ordered payment of Rs 265,000 as compensation to the victim's family under a government scheme, with 25 percent of this amount already disbursed.

The suspect, who had fled in a moving train, was arrested within hours in Maharashtra. He was booked under Section 65(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for rape of a minor and under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

As the news of the incident spread, locals gathered in large numbers outside Umargam police station demanding immediate action. Police assured the protesters that the accused had already been arrested and would be brought back to the city.