Gang Rape: Two Priests Accused of Raping 5 year-old Girl in Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: In yet another horrendous incident, a five-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by two priests inside the temple premises in Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Tuesday.

The two priests identified as Raju Pandit(55) and Batoli Prajapati (45) on late Tuesday night were arrested by the Datia Police after a complaint was lodged by the victim's father.

Reportedly, both of them were booked under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO).

There are allegations from the locals that the duo might have assaulted the other minors who were present during the incident.

The victim girl, who is a daughter of a farmer, was rushed to the nearby district hospital for better treatment.

It is to be noted that both the accused had lured the girl with a sweet dish inside the temple where they allegedly raped the minor girl and then dropped her outside her residence.

They also threatened the girl of dire consequences if she revealed the crime to anyone, states the Goraghat police station town inspector Ripudaman Singh.

It was the victim’s mother who first noticed that her daughter was in great pain. The girl initially didn’t reveal anything about the matter, but later she blurted out her ordeal.

The family accordingly informed the matter to the Goraghat police and took her to the district hospital.

Meanwhile in a media report, Datia Superintendent of police, Mayank Awasthi said, “The people have alleged that the two priests might have harassed other minors too, as several girls had told their parents that these priests were ‘not good’. We are investigating the matter.”

According to the state women’s cell records, 1,894 rapes and 4,069 molestation cases were registered in the first five months of 2018. This translates to an average of 13 rapes and 27 instances of molestation every day.

In December 2017, MP became the first state in the country to pass a bill providing for the rapists of girls aged 12 or below to be hanged till death. The minimum punishment, the bill stated, would be 14-year rigorous imprisonment or life term till death. This would go up to 20 years rigorous imprisonment in cases of gang rape of girls aged 12 or less.

Over the last seven months, fast-track courts in Madhya Pradesh have pronounced at least 12 death sentences in rape cases.