THEME 3: DISPROPORTIONATE TARGETING OF YOUNG GIRLS
CASE STUDY: PERPETRATORS PREY ON MINORS BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT EMPOWERED TO SPEAK UP
Date: February 2020
State: Maharashtra
Age: 16
A 16 year old Dalit girl was raped by 10 persons for over six months in Maharashtra’s Solapur district. The incident came to light after some locals saw the survivor crying outside a temple in the city and alerted the police. The survivor was severely traumatised, but after the police took her into confidence, she could finally narrate the ordeal.
On further enquiry, it was found that the girl and some of the accused were friends. They were later joined by other accomplices in the crime. The accused forcefully took the survivor to various places over six months and raped her. Five of the accused have been arrested under Indian Penal Code Section 376-D (gangrape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences Act (POCSO) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The search for the remaining accused persons is on. The survivor’s father died sometime back and she was staying here with her mother, who did odd jobs to earn livelihood.