- A 9-year-old girl was raped in front of her brother in Bhind, Madhya Pradesh
- The accused, known to the family, was arrested within 24 hours of the incident
- A similar case occurred in Narsinghpur where a girl was raped and murdered
A nine-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped in front of her minor brother by a man known to her family, in the Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh, while the siblings were returning home from school.
The incident occurred on Tuesday in the Mehgaon police station area, with the accused being arrested.
The survivor, a student of Class 4, was returning home with her elder brother, a Class 6 student. During this time, the accused, 21, stopped them and offered a ride home on his motorcycle. But instead of dropping them to their residence, he took them to a desolate location where he raped the girl in front of her brother, who was forced to watch the crime.
When the boy, 11, protested and tried to intervene, the accused assaulted him too. He then left the siblings and fled the scene.
By this time, the survivor was unconscious. Seeing this, the boy quickly ran home to alert the family. Relatives found the girl lying at the spot, and immediately took her to the hospital.
Health officials confirmed the assault medically, and the family reported the incident to the Mehgaon police.
Bhind Superintendent of Police Suraj Verma said multiple teams were formed and the accused, a resident of the same village who was well known to the family. He was arrested in less than 24 hours. Police are examining his criminal antecedents.
The Bhind case followed an incident six days earlier in Narsinghpur's Gotegaon area. A Class 3 girl returning from school was taken on a motorcycle by 28-year-old neighbour Annu Yadav on the pretext of dropping her home. He took her into the jungle, raped her and strangled her to death.
Narsinghpur Superintendent of Police Rishikesh Meena formed multiple teams the accused was arrested within 24 hours of the recovery of the girl's body.
The two incidents come amid a broader rise in crimes against children across the country. According to NCRB data, 1.87 lakh cases of crimes against children were registered in 2024, nearly 6 per cent more than in 2023. POCSO Act offences alone accounted for 69,191 cases about 37 per cent of the total involving 70,132 child victims.
More than 44,000 of these cases were registered under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act, which deal with penetrative and aggravated penetrative sexual assault, among the law's gravest offences.
