The sudden spurt in rape cases in Madhya Pradesh continued on Monday when a minor tribal girl was raped in village Chanduli in Baldevgarh police station area in Tikamgarh district. Police apathy was seen in this case too. Despite being informed about the incident at 3 pm, it had not reached the crime scene till the time of filing of this report.
Sources in the village said that 15-year-old tribal girl Chanda was raped and burnt alive by 18-year-old lakhan, also a tribal, at 3 pm. The victim, a class IX student was working in her field when the accused raped her. When he was into the act, the brother of the victim saw them. Fearing retaliation, the accused called his father, Naththu and together both of them burnt the victim alive.
Sources said the incident was immediately reported to the police, but the police did not reach the crime scene despite the fact that the police station is hardly 10 km away. The body lay in the village and the victims' family and villagers were waiting for the police till late in the night.
Meanwhile, agitated by the incident and the delay by police, the local tribals and villagers went berserk and damaged government properties and pelted stones. However, Tikamgarh Collector MR Raghuraj, while talking to The Pioneer over phone, said "the crime was reported late in the evening and the police reached the crime scene. Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Kumar is leading the investigations."