6-year-old raped in Haridwar, juvenile perpetrator arrested

In another horrific incident in Uttarakhand, a six-year-old girl was raped by a minor teenager in Pathri village of Haridwar on Thursday. The assailant fled the scene leaving the victim's hands and mouth tied, but was arrested on Friday and taken to a juvenile home called 'Place of Safety'. This is the second such incident in the last ten days in which a girl under the age of seven was sexually abused in the state.

According to Haridwar police, the incident occurred late on Thursday evening and was reported after the victim's father lodged a complaint at Pathri police station.

A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against the accused. He had evaded the police for nearly 24 hours before being arrested on his return home.

Haridwar police reported that the victim's father, a daily wage labourer, had filed a complaint that his six-year-old daughter was sexually abused by a 17-year-old neighbour. According to the father, the victim was playing with a five-year-old boy outside her house on Thursday evening when the accused lured her into his house and raped her.

Police further said that when the girl did not return home for several hours and was not seen in the area, her father along with other family members started searching for her. During the search, villagers learned that a 17-year-old boy who lived nearby had been seen talking to the victim. The girl's father and others immediately rushed to the teenager's house where they found the girl lying behind a sofa with her hands tied and her mouth tied.

“The accused teenager took the girl to a room, tied her hands and mouth with a dupatta and raped her. When the girl did not return home for several hours, the family started searching for her. She was found lying behind a sofa in the accused's house. After the incident, the teenager fled. He was booked under the POCSO Act and arrested on Friday. He was produced before the juvenile court and kept at a 'safe place',” said investigating officer Sub-Inspector Shahida Parveen.

Tragically, this is the second incident in Uttarakhand in the last ten days where a girl under the age of 10 has been sexually abused. Last week, three minors in Udhamsingh Nagar raped a four-year-old girl – one aged six and two aged 10 – who attended the same school as the victim. Police later arrested the boys and placed them under the protection of the Udhamsingh Nagar Juvenile Court, which sent them to a “safe place”.