13-yr-old lured with mobile phone, gang-raped by four in Nagpur

NAGPUR: A 13-year-old girl, student of Standard VIII, was kidnapped, gang-raped and molested by four, including her minor cousin, who lured her with the gift of a mobile phone, on Sunday. Two minors are among those booked.
Hingna police have nabbed two accused, including a minor, for their alleged role in the incident which came to fore in the early hours of Monday.
It’s learnt the teenaged complainant and the accused named in the First Information Report (FIR) are neighbours in one of the villages dotting the city outskirts. The accused named in the case are all first time offenders. It’s learnt that one of them is a student while others work at different places as labourers.
Amit Thakur and Balwant Gond are the two adult accused named in the case. Thakur has already been arrested. Police said names of more persons may surface in the case later.
As per the FIR, the teenager had gone to answer nature’s call in the open near her residence. On the way back, she was intercepted by Thakur, Gond and two minors, who forcefully whisked her away to a desolate crematorium outside the village. The teenager was savaged by Thakur, Gond and the minors before being set free.
The matter came to fore after she shared her plight with her family on returning from the crematorium in the wee hours of Monday. An offence was registered against Thakur, Gond and two of their minor accomplices for gang-rape, kidnapping, threatening and also outraging her modesty. Special provisions under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocity) Act too were invoked.
Unconfirmed sources said Thakur and his accomplices had intercepted the girl on her way home after attending a religious programme. They had offered her a mobile phone and invited her to chat with them. As there was no new handset available, she was ready to take the gadget belonging to one of the minors.
Sources said that after going home with the mobile phone, she received a call from Thakur and others to join them for an outing. The girl had left home on the pretext of going to answer nature’s call in the open, but met Thakur and his friends. She was taken to the crematorium where Thakur and Gond forced themselves upon her.
The minors, Gond and Thakur took turns to molest her, said sources. They had threatened the girl with dire consequences.
The girl’s mother had noticed that she was late. On her return, the mother also spotted dirt on her clothes. Upon questioning, the teenager narrated her ordeal. The girl’s family first confronted Thakur and others, leading to a big quarrel in the village before the matter reached Hingna police station.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)