Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
India

Minor's Gang Rape: Soldier Sent To Custody, Army Assures Cooperation

Darpan News Desk IANS, 29 Dec, 2015 12:59 PM
    A West Bengal court on Tuesday sent to seven days police custody a soldier arrested for the gang rape of a teenaged girl inside a train, while the army assured assistance to police in nabbing two of its personnel alleged to have committed the crime.
     
    The 14-year-old girl, hailing from Dum Dum in Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, was allegedly raped by two army men after forcing her to drink alcohol inside a reserved military compartment of the Howrah-Amritsar Express.
     
    The girl, who boarded the train from Howrah on her way to Ludhiana, was rescued in a joint effort by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel at Madhupur station in Jharkhand on Monday.
     
    While two of the alleged culprits managed to escape, the third personnel, accused to have forced the girl to drink, was arrested by the GRP and handed over to the Howrah GRP which has now taken over the investigation.
     
    Charged with several offences including under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the arrested accused -- identified as Manjrish Tripathi -- was presented before a court in Howrah which sent him to police custody for seven days.
     
    The girl, who identified the accused in a video footage, also deposed before the magistrate.
     
    "We had sought seven days custody of the accused which the court granted us. We are studying the video footage of the train to ascertain the identity and locate the two absconding accused. We are confident of apprehending them soon," said a GRP officer.
     
    "The victim also recorded her statement before the magistrate and we are interrogating the accused to gather more information about the two absconding accused," the officer added.
     
    A medical examination conducted on the girl confirmed rape.
     
    The girl was rescued after the GRP received a complaint from her father that she fled home and boarded the train.
     
    According to the family, the girl had left her house unannounced to meet a man in Ludhiana whom she had befriended on a social networking site.
     
    The army, which has initiated a probe in the matter, assured it would assist police in locating the accused soldiers.
     
    "We have assured full cooperation to the Howrah GRP which is now investigating the case. We have also initiated a probe into the matter. We are assisting the investigators in identifying and tracking the two accused," said an army source.
     
    Meanwhile, the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO), a students' organisation affiliated to the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), staged a demonstration in the city demanding capital punishment for the alleged rapists.
     
    Staging the demonstration outside Raj Bhavan here, some of AIDSO activists were arrested after they clashed with police.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Arvind Kejriwal Says Will Implement Hazare's Lokpal Suggestions

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday thanked Anna Hazare for supporting the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, saying he will "surely" implement the changes proposed by the social activist.

    Arvind Kejriwal Says Will Implement Hazare's Lokpal Suggestions

    Amid Sparks, Rajnath Says Intolerance Won't Be Allowed

    Rajnath Singh, who wound up a two-day debate in the Lok Sabha, reached out to the opposition and promised that mistakes if any would be rectified by the government.

    Amid Sparks, Rajnath Says Intolerance Won't Be Allowed

    Uproar In Lok Sabha Over Salim's Remarks; Rajnath Says Deeply Hurt

    Uproar In Lok Sabha Over Salim's Remarks; Rajnath Says Deeply Hurt
    A remark attributed to Home Minister Rajnath Singh by CPI-M member Mohammad Salim during the debate on intolerance triggered turmoil in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

    Uproar In Lok Sabha Over Salim's Remarks; Rajnath Says Deeply Hurt

    Rushdie Book Was Not Banned: Congress

    Days after former finance minister P. Chidambaram's criticised the ban on Salman Rushdie's controversial novel "The Satanic Verses", the Congress on Monday noted only the book's import had been banned.

    Rushdie Book Was Not Banned: Congress

    There is 'Some Amount of Intolerance', says Venkaiah Naidu

    There is 'Some Amount of Intolerance', says Venkaiah Naidu
    Admitting "some amount of intolerance" exists in the society, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday that the issues need to be "localised and dealt with firmly".

    There is 'Some Amount of Intolerance', says Venkaiah Naidu

    Chasing Jagtar Singh Tara: How Mastermind Of Punjab CM Beant Singh's Assassination Was Caught

    Chasing Jagtar Singh Tara: How Mastermind Of Punjab CM Beant Singh's Assassination Was Caught
    Former Delhi Police chief Neeraj Kumar says that nabbing the mastermind of Punjab chief minister Sardar Beant Singh's assassination was the most dangerous operation he ever undertook.

    Chasing Jagtar Singh Tara: How Mastermind Of Punjab CM Beant Singh's Assassination Was Caught