15 arrested in Chatra rape and murder case

Taking swift action after Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ directions to nab the culprits in the heinous rape and murder case at Raja Kendua village in Chatra, where a minor was allegedly first raped and then burnt alive, police on Saturday arrested 15 named accused in the case. The CM expressing deep anguish on the incident said that the government will lend all possible help to the kin of victim.

The 16-year-old girl was allegedly burnt alive by the accused and his henchmen after being punished and fined by a local Panchayat for his conduct.

After being informed about the rape by the family members of the girl, a Panchayat was convened on Friday which imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the accused, besides a direction to do 100 sit-ups to the accused. Enraged by the directive, the accused- Dhanu Bhuiyan, instead of obeying it, barged into the house of the victim with his henchmen and assaulted the woman's parents, before setting the girl on fire.

“Out of 18 persons against whom FIR had been lodged, 15 have been arrested within 10 hours while search is still on for the rest of the accused persons,” said IG, Shambhu Thakur. Main accused - Dhanu Bhuian has also been arrested from Bahera village under Chauparan Police Station in Hazaribagh late in the afternoon, he added.  

Thakur said that Village Mukhiya Tileshwari Devi and Panchayat samiti Member Ranjay Rajak were also among the arrested persons who have been booked on charges of passing unlawful orders and tampering with evidence. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) has been invoked against the accused as the victim was a minor, he added. 

“Gang-rape charges have been invoked against the accused, but we will wait for the post-mortem report before arriving at any conclusion,” said Thakur. A medical Board has been constituted by the District Administration for conducting autopsy of the half-burnt body of the girl, he added.

The IG, however, said that the girl and the accused were known to each other for quite some time after he had returned from Mumbai where he used to work as a labourer and the controversy erupted after the girl was spotted on a bike by one of his cousins while she had gone to attend a marriage ceremony to a nearby village on Thursday.

Meanwhile, expressing anguish on the incident, Chief Minister Raghubar Das said that those responsible for the incident must be given stringent punishment and they must not be spared at any cost. “We are monitoring the incident by keeping a close eye on it and all possible help are being provided to the family members of the victim,” said the CM.

Also, a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as immediate financial assistance was handed over to the family members of the victim. Chatra superintendent of police Akhilesh B Verior and other police officials have been camping in the village ever since the incident has occurred.