Illustration for representational purpose

BHOPAL: Under threat of shaming her, six men — including an 80-year-old — raped a minor girl in Jabalpur for six months. The torture ended only when the girl realized she was pregnant and confided in her parents.

Police have arrested five of the accused, but the octogenarian, identified as Sukhdev Tiwari, escaped. The 16-year-old girl told SP Sashikant Shukla that a man from her village, Bhura Rajak, raped her around six months ago. She did not tell anyone, fearing that her family would be ostracized by the community. Taking advantage of her silence, another person identified as Vachan Rajak raped her. He threatened to tell everyone in the village she was a rape survivor unless she gives in. Vachan and Rajak repeatedly raped her after that, says the girl’s complaint. Then, four others — Sukhdev, Sonu Rajak, Rajkumar Rajak and Ravi Rajak — exploited her the same way, forcing her into silence with threats of shaming her in public

5 accused sent to jail

The girl feared that her family would suffer if they were ostracized, so she suffered quietly. Last week, she realized she was pregnant and had no option but to tell her mother. The family stood with her and went to Khamaria police station on Wednesday night to file a complaint.

Cops swung into action and rounded up five of the accused. SP Shukla personally took down the survivor’s statement, and said they will track down Sukhdev. All the accused have been charged with criminal intimidation and rape. The five were produced in court and sent to jail. Blood samples have been collected from them for DNA tests.

