13-year-old gang-raped in Jashpur, nine arrested

Jashpur | Desk: A shameful incident has come to light in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, where a 13-year-old girl was gang-raped in the Narayanpur police station area. The incident occurred on February 17th, when the victim was returning from a relative's house with her elder sister. Nine drunken men ambushed the two sisters on the way.

The elder sister somehow managed to escape and alert her family, but the main accused, Neeraj Lakra (23), and another minor held her younger sister hostage and raped her. The other seven accused remained silent spectators during this heinous crime.

After living in fear for two days, the victim narrated her ordeal to her family. When the news spread in the village, the accused tried to silence the victim's family by offering them a large sum of money and threatened to kill them if they went to the police.

However, the family mustered courage and filed a police complaint on February 20th. Four special teams, formed under the direction of Senior Superintendent of Police Dr. Lal Umed Singh, acted swiftly and apprehended all nine accused.

Police have registered cases against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act, and have sent eight adults to jail and one minor to a juvenile home.