Labourer rapes eight-year-old girl

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 17

Two incidents of crime against minor girls were reported in the city today.

In the first incident, an eight-year-old girl was raped by 52-year-old labourer at Dhandari Kalan. The suspect has been identified as Vijay Singh, a resident of Guru Nanak Nagar, Dhandari Kalan. He is a native of Baheri village in Nepal.

In her complaint to the police, the victim’s mother said they had rented a room in a “vehra” at Guru Nanak Nagar. Yesterday, she left the room for work in a nearby auto factory. Her daughter was alone in the room. Vijay Singh, who resides in the same building, lured the girl into his room. When she came back to her room during lunch time, she found the girl was not in the room. She started searching for her daughter. She went to Vijay’s room and found he was raping the girl.

He tried to flee the spot but neighbours nabbed him and handed him over to the police.

The woman said she, along with her family, came here from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh two months ago. Her husband had gone to Jaunpur along with his five-year-old son.  

Surinder Mohan, Station Headquarter Officer of Focal Point, said the suspect, who worked at a factory as a labourer, had been arrested under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Meanwhile, a 26-year-old labourer attempted to rape a three-and-a-half-year-old girl. The victim’s father said he and his wife worked at a factory. Today, they left for work leaving behind their six-year-old son and daughter in a labour quarter at Bindra Colony. Around 12:15 pm, I got a call from my brother-in-law that a man had attempted to rape his daughter.  

Didar Singh, investigating officer, said: “The suspect, Dharminder Kumar is a labourer. He resides in a quarter close to the victim’s house. Yesterday, he found the girl was playing outside. He lured her behind the stairs. A woman, who was drying clothes on her roof, sensed the bad intention of the suspect and raised the alarm. Neighbours nabbed Dharminder and handed him over to the police.

The Salem Tabri police have arrested the accused registered a case under sections 376 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in this regard.  

Crime against minor girls on the rise 

There is no let up in crime against minor girls in the city. As many as 10 rape and attempt-to-rape cases have been registered in the past one month in the city. 

As per the police record, from January 2015 to March 2016, 51 cases had been registered in which minors were raped. In a majority of cases, the accused and victims both belong to migrant families settled in the city.