Bareilly (UP):
Police have registered a case against two youths for allegedly dragging a 14-year-old Class 8 student into a sugarcane field and gangraping her while she was grazing goats in the Nawabganj area of Bareilly, officials said on Tuesday.
Police have identified one of the accused as Vimlesh, while the other remains unidentified. Police searched the area throughout Tuesday, but the accused were yet to be apprehended.
Superintendent of Police (North) Mukesh Chandra Mishra stated that the incident occurred on Sunday evening.
“The student was grazing goats with an eight-year-old boy from her neighbourhood. Vimlesh arrived with a friend, and the two allegedly forcibly dragged her into a sugarcane field and committed the act,” he said.
“The boy who was with the student witnessed the incident and ran away to inform her mother, who was cutting grass about half a kilometer away. When her mother arrived, the two accused had fled. The student later informed her family about the incident,” he added.
Based on the complaint of the victim’s mother, the police have registered a case at Nawabganj police station under relevant sections of the BNS including gang rape, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, police said.
After recording the victim’s statement, the police sent her to the district hospital for medical examination.
Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya, who also inspected the scene on Monday, had directed the station in-charge to arrest the accused as soon as possible.
The SSP stated that three police teams and the Special Operations Group (SOG) have been deployed to search for the accused.
Police are also trying to identify the second accused based on the victim’s statement.
In view of the tense situation in the village following the incident, the police have increased security at the scene. They have appealed to the public to ignore rumours and maintain law and order.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
