Class 3 girl raped by Class 6 boy in Baghpat

This picture has been used for representational purposes.

In a bizaare incident, a Class 3 student was allegedly raped by a Class 6 boy of her school and his two younger brothers in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. According to media reports, the eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped inside the toilet of a government primary school in a village in Ramala region of the district.

When the girl's parents reported the matter to the police, they initially refused to file an FIR for 15 days. Also , the Station House Officer (SHO) Naresh Kumar also tried to force the girl's father to drop the charges against the boy.

The matter came to light on Monday evening, when the girl's health began deteriorating and senior police officials were informed of the SHO's behavior after which he was removed from his post by the district police chief.

"The crime was allegedly committed by the eldest brother, who studies in Class 6. However, the victim's father has also named his other two brothers, who were part of the group at that time. Whether they were also involved or not is a matter of investigation," Baghpat Superintendent of Police (SP) Pratap Gopendra Yadav told IANS.

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The SP further informed that an FIR has been filed against three brothers under IPC Section 376 (rape) and the POCSO Act. "We sent the girl for medical examination on Tuesday and the report is awaited. Once she is stable we will get her statement recorded in the court and further action will be taken," he added.

"I have directed Circle Officer Ompal Singh to probe the allegations of police dereliction. SHO Naresh Kumar was not supposed to engineer a compromise in this case. He was supposed to book all those who had committed wrongdoing," the SP added.

The girl's uncle alleged that the family was being asked to remain silent, "from the beginning." "A day after the incident took place, about a fortnight ago, we had visited the teacher in the school, but she behaved as if nothing had happened. Since the accused also belonged to the same village, we were under great pressure from the panchayat elders not to take the matter to the police as it would bring a bad name to the village. The local SHO was hell-bent on ensuring a compromise. During all this, the girl's health was continuously deteriorating after which we approached the Baghpat SP with our complaint," he said.

With inputs from IANS

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