In yet another heinous crime against the fairer sex, a nine-year-old girl was murdered after being gang-raped by two youths near Uppar Bandh village under Mosabani police station area in Ghatshila sub-division in the wee hours of Friday.
The victim, who belonged to Sabar community, a primitive tribe was lured for a packet of snacks and was raped before getting strangulated to death. The police have arrested both the rapists identified as Chhotka Gope (24) and Dhano Tuddu (24), residents of adjoining Tilbani village and Uppar Bandh village respectively. According to sources, the victim who was a resident of Uppar Bandh had gone to a fair along with her sister at the same village on the occasion of Karma Puja. When the two sisters were returning home late in the night, both Chhotka and Dhano lured the victim to offer a packet of snacks.
Sources further informed that the two culprits made the victim to ask her sister go home alone and she herself came along with the youths who took her to an isolated place where they first raped her. Soon after raping the girl, the duo strangulated her to death and dumped the body at the same area.
Sub-divisional police officer, Mosabani, Ajit Kumar Vimal confirmed about the rape incident and murder of the nine-year-old girl. “Yes the incident took place with the girl who belonged to Sabar community. She was strangulated to death by two youths after being gang-raped. Soon after the incident the police launched search operation for the killers,” said the SDPO. Vimal said that as the victim’s younger sister had identified Dhano Tuddu, one of the accused and a resident of the same village. Thereafter the duo were nabbed the one after another from near their houses.
The SDPO, on being asked, said that the duo killed the victim after raping her because they were fearing that she would reveal the act of rape before her parents and they would be in trouble due to their act.
The victim’s father works as a daily wager. After the girl was found lying murdered in the early hours of the morning, over 100 villagers, including the Sabars surrounded the body and did not allow the police to lift the body. After the protest local administration paid Rs 10,000 amount and an assurance of providing a house under Birsa Awas Yojana as well as a lPG connection free of cost to the victim’s family that they allowed the former to lift the body.