Dalit girl gangraped in holy Rajasthan town

Dalit girl gangraped in holy Rajasthan town
PRADEEP KAUSHAL

JAIPUR, JULY 21: In a bizarre case, a 17-year-old married Dalit girl was allegedly raped by 12 men at the famous Bhrithari pilgrimage centre in Alwar district of Rajasthan on Wednesday night. Two of the alleged rapists are the victim's nephews. Among the rest are two temple priests, one temple employee, a friend of her nephews and six shopkeepers.

According to the police, the girl who belongs to Darbarpur village in the same district was visiting her sisters at Basana village a week ago. Her sisters' sons, both named Mukesh, offered to escort her to the temple at Bhrithari, named after the ancient king-turned-ascetic, on July 19. On the way, they reportedly persuaded their friend, Bharat Lal, to join them.

After visiting the temple, they hired a room in the dharamshala to stay overnight. While the girl went to sleep in the room, bolting the door from inside, the three boys decided to sleep on cots in the verandah.

The girl told the police that after some time, her nephews knocked on the door and called out to her, asking her for a sheet. When she opened the door and turned around, the three boys allegedly followed her inside and slammed the door behind them. They overpowered her and took turns to rape her, she told the police.

Though the commotion brought the temple priest, Ram Prapanna Shastri, to the room, it didn't end the ordeal of the girl; the priest joined the boys in raping the girl. He was allegedly followed by the priest of another temple across the building, Santosh Tewari, and the temple storekeeper, Hanuman Tewari.

It did not take the owners of a string of shops situated nearby to realise that something was wrong and six of them rushed to the spot. But, according to what the girl told the police, instead of rescuing her, they threatened to raise an alarm unless they too were allowed to rape the girl.

The priest, Shastri, then insisted that they shift the girl to the terrace. So, the six shopkeepers -- Nandu Gujar, Ratan Mali, Ratan Lal, Vijay Singh, Pema Ram Mali and Chhuttan Lal Jogi -- carried the girl to the terrace and began raping her.

Some pilgrims, who were preparing prasad to make an early morning offering a little distance away, were distracted by the presence of so many people on the terrace and flashed a torch. What they saw brought four of them rushing to the rescue of the girl who had by now fallen unconscious. The shopkeepers had fled.

The pilgrims then went to the Malakhera police station around 4 am yesterdayto report the matter. The police rushed to the dharamshala and managed to arrest 10 of the accused. Another one, Vijay Singh, was arrested today.

The police said today a medical examination had been conducted. While a detailed report is awaited, preliminary reports have confirmed the rape, they said. A case had been registered under sections 376, 145, 368-A and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.