Four-year-old girl's body dumped in well after she was raped and murdered in horrific sex attack
A four-year-old girl's body was reportedly extracted from a well after she was raped, murdered, and then thrown in the water body last week in Madhya Pradesh, India. Police officials stated that the child was sexually assaulted on the night of May 28 and her body was later discovered in the well on the morning of May 29 in Chhatarpur city.
Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Saurabh, while talking to the reporters, said: "The post-mortem report has revealed the girl was subjected to sexual assault and homicide. A case is being registered and suspects are being interrogated."
The local police reportedly have been accused of being negligent in the handling of the case. The SP said that an investigation has been launched into the allegations against the officers. "If it is found true, those involved will be suspended," Saurabh said, according to Gulf News.
Latest reports said the in-charge of the police station of the area has been suspended for alleged laxity in investigation and a case of rape and murder have been registered against unidentified persons.
In another similar horrific case of sexual assault of a child, a man was arrested on Monday, June 1, after he allegedly abducted a one-year-old girl while she was with her mother and later raped her in a secluded location in Punjab. The child's mother, while talking to reporters, said that she recognized the perpetrator, a 45-year-old neighbor of hers, and caught him in the act.
The mother said: "I thought he might have taken my daughter to play with her but after some time I heard her screams. When I went there, I found that the accused was raping my daughter." Shortly after the mother alerted the authorities, a medical examination was conducted on the child, confirming rape.
According to the most recent figures available, there were nearly 40,000 rapes reported in India in 2016. Activists in the country have claimed that the figures are underreported as many victims do not come forward to report the crimes because of social stigma attached to sexual assault and in some cases threats by perpetrators. The Indian government, after public pressure, in 2018 approved capital punishment for repeat offenders and for perpetrators who sexually assault children under the age of 12.
The reports of sexual assault of minors come nearly a month after an Instagram chatgroup, 'Bois Locker Room', used by teenage schoolboys from Delhi, India, had garnered international attention after the secret group's objectionable content — discussing molestation and gang rape of minor girls — was made public on social media. The controversial activities of the all-boys group — with around 100 members from four or five elite schools — came to light on May 2, Saturday, when a female Instagram user spoke out about how she received screenshots of the group chat by someone who was added to the group.
Her exposé, within a few hours, sparked a massive outrage on social media with other users also sharing screenshots of the conversations from the same group. The conversations in the group revealed that the boys had been body-shaming and slut-shaming girls, and sharing their pictures without their consent. One of the screenshots revealed that the schoolboys had discussed gang-raping minor girls, some of whom were their classmates. "I will rape her easily," one teen said in the group.
The 2012 'Nirbhaya' rape and murder case of a medical student in the city had led to an international outcry, leading to the passage of more stringent laws against sexual assault and rape in the country. However, the revelation of the sexist and abusive chatgroup suggests that little has been done to inculcate respect towards women and fear of law in society.