The Madhya Pradesh Police on Sunday said they have arrested a 20-year-old youth for allegedly raping an 18-month-old toddler in Khandwa city. SHO Jaipal Inwasi said the youth took the child from her parents on Thursday on the pretext of playing with her and then raped her.
He has been identified as Jitendra Jadham. He committed the crime at an agriculture farm in Harsud area, Inwasi said. The child’s mother filed a police complaint when the offender did not return till midnight.
The child was found after the police conducted a search. Jadham has been booked under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. A similar case in which a man known to girl child’s family had raped the small girl had come to fore a couple of years ago in Indore.
In September, the Madhya Pradesh Police detained three schoolboys for allegedly raping a six-year-old Adivasi girl in Indore district. The three accused allegedly raped the girl near her house. While one of them was a 12-year-old student, the others were 15 years old.
The State government is taking stern action against the rapists. In the past in around a dozen cases, capital imprisonment has been awarded to the rapists, but still there is no check on such crimes.
