This Article is From Oct 03, 2013

Two schoolgirls allegedly raped in Shimla; juvenile among four arrested

Both girls have been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital.

Shimla: The police have arrested three people in connection with the rape of a 15-year-old schoolgirl in Shimla. The girl was allegedly raped by four people, including her classmate and a taxi-driver.

While two of the accused men have been sent to police custody for four days, one of them, the girl's classmate, is a juvenile and has been sent to a remand home. The classmate and the taxi driver were reportedly known to the girl's family.

The teenager, who had been missing from her house for the past three days, was found in a semi-conscious state near her house in Vikas Nagar, a suburb of Shimla on Tuesday night. She has been admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMC).

"The boy drugged my daughter and took her away. We found her on the third day behind the bushes. My daughter said there four or five boys along with him, they took her someplace and gave her an injection and other medicines," said the girl's mother.

"A minor girl who was missing since the 28th of September, was found abandoned by her mother. The incident was reported. The girl was raped," said Sandip Dhawal, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Shimla.

In IGMC, lies another rape survivor, a 16-year-old girl, who came from a village near Kufri to meet a relative at the hospital. She was allegedly raped by a shopkeeper, who has been arrested.

The accused took the girl to a hotel where she was raped and later abandoned her near the hospital on Wednesday morning, police said.

As the city erupted in protest, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh tried to play down the incidents. "There are both men and women in Himachal, so it crimes will take place. One or two rapes don't mean the law and order situation is dismal in the state. The guilty will be punished," he said.

But his words were no consolation for the locals in Shimla.

"We thought we're safe here, but now we can't trust anyone. Strictest punishment should be given to them, they should be hanged," said Neha, a student.

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