india

Updated: Apr 27, 2017 20:27 IST

Police in Gwalior late Friday arrested three persons including the brother-in-law of a nine-year-old girl for allegedly raping her over the last few weeks.

The survivor’s 32-year-old sister was also arrested for abetting the crime. A search is on for two others who were named by the survivor and who are absconding. The accused have also been booked under provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012.

According to police, after the girl’s parents died a few years ago, she was living with her sister and 35-year-old brother-in-law in Maharajpura area of Gwalior.

On March 31, a resident of the area called the Child Line to complain that the girl was being physically tortured in his neighbour’s house. A Child Line team rescued the girl with the help of police and shifted her to Matrichaya shelter home.

At the shelter home, she told the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) about how she was being sexually exploited for last few weeks. After her medical examination, police swung into action and lodged a case of rape against the five accused,

Read more: 18-yr-old woman run over by train ‘while trying to escape rape bid’ in MP

Sexual violence and increasing crime against women have become major concerns in Madhya Pradesh. In August last year, a three-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in a Gwalior school. The girl, a nursery student, later identified the suspects from photographs following which police caught them. In February this year, a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a toilet of a school in Jabalpur district.

According to the fresh data submitted in the ongoing assembly session, 11 women were raped daily and six gang-raped every week in the state on an average during last one year. Over half of the rape victims were minors according to the data. The latest figures presented in the state assembly for last six months coupled with figures submitted to the House in July last year show that between February 1, 2016 and mid-February 2017, 4279 women were raped and 248 gang-raped in MP. Of 4279 rape victims, 2260 are minors.