8-year-old raped in Agra; third such incident in UP in 4 days

The girl’s family members said she had gone out to a nearby shop but when she did not come back for nearly two hours, they started looking for her. They added they were informed about the incident by their neighbours.

As angry residents tried to block the road and shouted anti-police slogans, senior officers intervened and assured them that the culprit will be arrested soon.

“We have yet to register an FIR as we are waiting for the minor to gain consciousness. We will identify the culprit soon based on the available CCTV footage and her statement,” said the in-charge of the area police station.

This is the third such incident in the state in the last four days.

On March 9, a 14-year-old was allegedly raped by two men in a jungle near a village in Agra. The accused had also beaten her badly and dragged her to the ground, causing injuries on her shoulders.

“We have arrested both the accused who are respectively aged 28 and 30 years,” said the in-charge of the area police station.

On the same day, two Class 6 students had raped a five-year-old girl who was playing with them in a village in the state’s Sambhal district. They took her to the forest where both of them raped her, the police said.

They said the accused had threatened those playing with them to remain silent about the incident and also intimidated the victim, saying they kill her if she dared to tell anyone about the attack.

“The condition of my daughter worsened on March 12 and when we asked her, she told us about the accused. We then took her to the police station,” said the girl’s father who lodged an FIR at the area police station.

“Based on the named FIR, we held both the accused Sunday evening. They are students of Class 6 and are not more than 12 years old. They have been sent to the juvenile home in Moradabad,” said the police station in charge.