13-year-old abducted, gang-raped by 9 men in MP’s Umaria district, 7 held

Express News Service
BHOPAL: A 13-year-old girl was abducted and gang-raped by nine men twice within five days in the Umaria district of Madhya Pradesh

The incident happened at a time when the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government is running ‘Samman,’ a fortnight-long public awareness drive on crime against women across the state.

The girl was first abducted by a youth known to her on January 4 and then raped by the abductor and his six friends for two days. The perpetrators of the crime, before leaving her on January 5, threatened to kill her if she made the matter public, owing to which she remained mum. 

The horror was repeated six days later when she was abducted again on January 11 by one of the men who had raped her on January 4 and 5. She was held captive in jungles as well as at a roadside dhaba and was raped by the kidnappers and other two men.

The girl’s agony didn’t end there as after being abandoned by the three accused, she was abducted again and allegedly raped by two truck drivers before she managed to flee and return to her house early morning on Friday.

The matter was reported to Katni police on Friday, after which multiple police teams conducted searches. “We’ve so far arrested seven accused and hope to nab the remaining accused of the first case by Saturday night,” Katni SP Vikas Kumar Shahwal said.

Shockingly, at least four such incidents in various parts of MP in the last six days have put a question mark on women’s safety.

On January 9, a 48-year-old widow was raped by a man with the help of four others inside her hut-cum-makeshift tea shop in the Sidhi district. The prime accused in the case also allegedly inserted an iron rod in the private parts of the widow, who is a mother of two. All the five accused have been arrested.

Two days later on January 11, a 13-year-old was kidnapped by her grocery trader neighbour, who then allegedly raped the teenager and murdered her in the Khandwa district. The 50-year-old grocery trader then made an unsuccessful bid to conceal the minor’s body in a sack with his wife’s help. The accused couple has been arrested.

A day later, a young woman was assaulted beyond imagination by her husband and father-in-law, suspecting her fidelity in Ujjain district. The accused men along with women of the family used sharp-edged weapons to cut the woman’s nose and breast and also inflicted injury on other body parts. While the woman is battling for life at the MY Hospital in Indore, two prime accused in the case have been held.