The rape of an eight-year-old minor girl in Rajasthan's Udaipur sparked violent outrage on Monday, as locals took to the roads, blocking them, pelting stones, damaging police vehicles, and vandalising public buses.
Reportedly, police personnel from three police stations were deployed to control the situation.
On Sunday evening, the minor went alone to a nearby agricultural field, while usually accompanied by her mother. She was allegedly raped by Ramlal, who took her to a bush. After she returned home, the girl informed her family about the assault. She was then rushed to Maharana Bhupal Government Hospital.
A case has been registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act at Dabok Police Station. The accused, Ramlal, was also arrested on Monday morning after he was tracked down through CCTV footage while he was trying to escape.
But the incident enraged villagers, who gathered outside the police station demanding immediate action. It further sparked unrest after a rumour spread that the girl had died while undergoing treatment.
A police official said, "This (the rumour) agitated the crowd, and they pelted stones at police personnel and set fire to around 10 police vehicles. They further started vandalising buses passing through a nearby road and then blocked it."
Seeing the escalating situation, SP Yogesh Goyal and other officers arrived to manage the crowd. While the Additional SP Anjna Sukhwal confirmed that police had to conduct overnight raids to apprehend the accused. They have also identified some youths who have been involved in stone pelting, and a case of damaging public property has been filed against them.
A separate incident of rape has been reported by the police in Rajasthan's Dungarpur. A six-year-old minor girl was raped and murdered by her uncle on August 4.
Aspur DSP Hanuwant Singh Bhati, in a statement on August 5, said, "The incident happened in the district's Nathuwa Police Station. The victim's body was found near a pond, following which police started an investigation that revealed that she was raped by her uncle before the murder. We have also detained the accused on August 5."
The accused was apprehended by the police on August 5.
