Ranchi
In an alarming development, five juveniles have been arrested for allegedly raping a minor tribal girl on January 14 in the Ramgarh area of Dumka district.
“The police apprehended five accused from Thadihat village of Ramgarh police station area. They had executed the incident and raids are being conducted to arrest another accused involved in the incident,” Dumka SP Amber Lakra said.
An FIR was registered against the five accused under Ramgarh police station on January 17 under section 376 DA of the India Penal Code and 4/6 of the POCSO Act.
The victim is undergoing treatment at the Phulo Jhano Murmu Medical College Hospital. Hospital’s Deputy Superintendent Dr Anushant Purti, a three-member team is treating the victim and her condition is constantly being monitored.
Instances of crime against tribal girls and women have been reported at regular intervals in Jharkhand. Recently, in Sahibganj, part of Santhal Paragana, a tribal woman was chopped into a dozen pieces by her husband in an eerie similarity with the Shradhha Walkar case of Delhi. The gangrape of a tribal woman by 17 men and the gangrape and murder of a 12-year-old in Dumka had rocked the nation in 2020. A number of cases of rape and gangrape have been reported from time to time from other districts like Ranchi, Gumla, Latehar and Godda among others.
The 14-year-old victim was returning from the Sohrai festival when she was intercepted by the gang of boys and who allegedly committed the heinous crime. The victim’s family lodged a complaint only after her condition deteriorated and she had to be admitted to hospital.
The administration has handed over a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as interim relief to the victim’s family while Rs 20,000 in cash was also handed over by the Welfare Department for her medical treatment, officials said.
As things stand, Dumka is the second capital of Jharkhand with the Soren family holding considerable sway in the region that is part of Santhal Paragana. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had contested from Dumka as well as Barhait in 2019 Assembly elections and won from both the places. He, however, retained Barhait following which his brother Basant won the Dumka seat in the 2020 bypolls.
Dumka has earlier been represented in the Lok Sabha by JMM patriarch Shibu Soren but who lost in 2019 to BJP’s Sunil Soren, the sitting MP. Former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Babulal Marandi too represented it in the Lower House.
