India: Madhya Pradesh police arrests second accused of gang-raping minor girl in Mandsaur district
Sunday, July 1, 2018
On Friday, Madhya Pradesh police arrested the second person accused of gang-raping a minor girl in the Mandsaur district. According to varying reports, the rape victim was seven or eight years old.
According to police inspector Jitendra Singh Yadav of Mandsaur Kotwali police, they arrested 24-year-old construction worker Asif on Friday. Another accused, 20-year-old Irfan, was arrested on Wednesday, one day after both of them allegedly kidnapped the girl after school, raped her, and slit her throat. According to the police statement, one of the accused was seen with the girl in CCTV footage. Police inspector Yadav said, "We questioned Irfan and he confessed about Asif's involvement".
Madhya Pradesh's Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "The accused has already been arrested and there is evidence against him. We will ensure though fast-track courts that he will get capital punishment at the earliest". Calling those rapists "a burden on the society", Chouhan said, "We want that people who did such heinous crime should be hanged to death. Human rights are for humans, not for the devils."
Last year, Madhya Pradesh assembly passed a bill approving capital punishment for those convicted for raping girls below the age of twelve. Indian Ministers of the Union Cabinet also approved an ordinance in April approving fast-track courts for rapes of minors and death penalty for those convicted for raping girls under the age of twelve.
The girl was taken to a hospital in Indore and after performing two operations, the doctors said on Friday that she was stable.
Asif and Irfan are booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act for kidnapping and raping the minor.
Related news
Sources
- "Rahul Gandhi: 'Brutal rape of 8-year-old in Mandsaur is sickening, must protect our children'" — The Indian Express, June 30, 2018
- "Madhya Pradesh: 8-year-old fights for life after gangrape, protests spread across Mandsaur" — The Indian Express, June 30, 2018
- Rohit Soni. "Second accused arrested for rape of 8-year-old in Mandsaur" — Hindustan Times, June 30, 2018
- PTI. "Second arrest in Mandsaur child rape case" — The Hindu, June 30, 2018
- "India child rape: Huge protests in Madhya Pradesh" — BBC News Online, June 29, 2018
- PTI. "Death penalty for rape of girls aged 12 and below: MP Assembly passes Bill" — The Hindu, December 4, 2018