Express News Service By

A 30-year-old man was allowed to go scot-free despite allegedly raping a minor girl after he agreed to pay Rs 1,500 to her family and Rs 500 to village elders at Mosayyapeta panchayat in Kasimkota mandal, Visakhapatnam district.

Though the incident happened a couple of days ago, it came to light only on Sunday when the girl’s family approached the Kasimkota police. Doctors had refused to treat the girl if they didn’t lodge a police complaint.

According to police, the girl, a Class VII student, had gone to a sugarcane field to get a piece to eat on Friday evening. Observing that she was alone, N Appa Rao, a farmer of the same village, dragged her into a nearby garden and allegedly raped her. When she returned home crying and informed her parents about the sexual assault, they approached the village elders for justice. However, they warned the family against lodging a police complaint. Police authorities said the village elders had offered Rs 1,500 to the family to silence them and for covering the victim’s medical expenses. The accused is learnt to have agreed to pay another Rs 500 for the village elders’ expenses.

Kasimkota SI P Srinivasa Rao told Express a case has been registered and the girl admitted to the government hospital in Anakapalle. The accused is said to be absconding.