A rape attempt was made on a three-year-old girl in Unnao, a dancer was gangraped in Chhattisgarh.

Several cases of rape, including those of minor girls, have been reported from across the country in the last two days. Here are some of the cases that were reported by news agencies and The Hindu's reporters.

Unnao, UP

A rape attempt was made on a three-year-old girl in a village under Makhi police station area in Unnao, police said on Saturday. The minor was playing near her house on Friday when a youth of a neighbouring village tried to rape her in an adjoining agriculture field but the locals, who rushed on hearing her cries for help, managed to save her, SHO Makhi Raj Bahadur said.

The locals informed the police and a case has been registered, the SHO said, adding that the girl has been sent for medical examination. The accused has been taken into custody and further investigations are on, the SHO added. - PTI

Darbhanga, Bihar

A five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by an auto-rickshaw driver who beckoned her to accompany him for a joyride and dumped her at a secluded spot, battered and bruised, police said here on Saturday. The incident took place in Kharua More locality of Sadar police station area late Friday night and the girl, who fell unconscious following the sexual assault, was undergoing treatment at a hospital while the accused has been arrested, said Babu Ram, Senior Superintendent of Police.

He said the girl was playing along with another three-year-old close to the place where the three-wheeler was parked and then they got onto the vehicle. Sahni started the vehicle, telling the girls that he would take them for a joyride but soon dropped the three-year-old at a nearby spot before raping the survivor at a secluded place, the officer said. - PTI

Kanjirappally, Kerala

A man accused of raping a minor girl in Kanjirappally, was nabbed from the district in the early hours on Saturday, police said. Arun Suresh, hailing from Karimbukayam in the district, was picked up from Anakkallu area in Kanjirappally by a special squad of the police when he was making attempts to flee, they said. Suresh was traced with the help of cyber police who identified the tower location of his mobile number.

The man allegedly raped the 13-year-old at her home in Kanjirappally on Thursday, when the girl was alone at her home after returning from school. The accused reached home at 4.30 p.m., introducing himself as her brother’s friend and asked for water to drink. He then allegedly forced his way into the house and raped the eighth standard student. - PTI

Koraput, Odisha

A class VII student of a state-run residential school in Odisha’s Koraput district was allegedly raped for months by the headmistress’ husband, who has been arrested after the tribal girl was found to be three-month pregnant, police said on Saturday.

The 60-year-old man who used to stay with his wife at the staff quarters of the school, meant for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes students, was arrested on Friday.

He used to call the girl to the staff quarters and sexually exploited her a number of times, said Varun Guntupalli, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Jeypore. The accused had also sought permission from her parents to take her home during the summer vacation and when she visited, he raped her number of times, the officer said. “However, the wife of the accused was unaware of the happenings,” Mr. Guntupalli said, adding that the man has confessed to the crimes.

He has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, police said.

District child protection officer Rajshree Das said the girl will be kept at a child care institution after medical examination. District welfare officer Madhusmita Mohapatra said, “Departmental action will also be taken against the headmistress as there is a circular requiring her not to keep any male member in the government quarter.”

The school is run by the SC and ST development department of the State government. - PTI

Durg, Chhattisgarh

A 27-year-old Mumbai-based dancer, hired for performing at a wedding, was allegedly raped by three men in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, the police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Ahiwara Road near Kumhari town on the night of December 4, they said. A case was registered against Kamlesh, Raj and Kabir for allegedly raping the woman, while one Sonu Kumar was booked for criminal conspiracy for allegedly helping them, said an official of Supela police station. Of the accused, Kamlesh and Raj were arrested on Thursday.

As per the woman’s complaint, Kumar had invited her to perform at a wedding, and she arrived at Bhilai in Durg district on November 28.

After the event was over on December 3, she was to leave for Mumbai on December 4, the police official said. On the evening of December 4, Kamlesh, Raj and Kabir offered to drop her at Raipur in a car. They allegedly stopped the car at secluded place on Ahiwara Road and raped her. Later they drove her to Raipur, the complaint said.

The woman managed to reach Bhilai late on the same night, and lodged a case against them at Supela police station. Efforts were on to arrest Kabir and Kumar, the police official added. - PTI

Bulandshahr, UP

In an alleged case of gang-rape of a minor in Pahasu area of Bulandshahr, four minors have been arrested, police said on Saturday.

“On December 3, when the 16-year-old went to fetch vegetables from the field, she was waylaid by three boys of the same village and raped in the field and a video of the criminal act was made,” said D.P. Singh, SHO, Pahasu.

According to the official, the case came to light on Friday when one of the boys shared the video with one of the friends. “When it went viral, the father of the girl reported the matter to the police. Within two hours, we arrested the three main accused and the boy who posted the video on social media. They are relatives of the girl’s family and live in the neighbourhood. The medical report has confirmed rape. The accused have been booked under 376D of the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act. Their correct age is being ascertained,” said Mr. Singh. - Ashok Kumar, The Hindu

Sentences in cases of rape of minor girls

Sikar, Rajasthan

A local court on Friday awarded life sentence to a man for raping a four-year-old girl in Rajasthan’s Sikar district.

Hansraj Balai, 25, was awarded life imprisonment till death by the POCSO court, public prosecutor Yashpal Singh said. A penalty of ₹1.10 lakh was also imposed on him, he said. Balai had raped the girl in December 2016 when she was playing in her house. The victim’s parents were not at home when the incident had taken place. - PTI

Kolkata, West Bengal

A district court on Friday sentenced a middle-aged man to 10-year rigorous imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl in Kolkata in 2014.

Sambhu Haldar, a resident of Ultadanga Main Road, and a neighbour of the victim, committed the heinous crime inside his room on the pretext of playing ludo. The victim’s mother reported the crime to the police on January 1, 2014, following which a case was registered in Ultadanaga police station under Section 376 (1) (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. After completion of investigation, a charge sheet was submitted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act before the special second court of Additional District Judge, Alipore. On Friday, the court sentenced Haldar to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years besides slapping a fine of ₹20,000. - IANS