UDAIPUR, RAJASTHAN — On Sunday night in Udaipur, Rajasthan, an 8-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a field. This led to a wave of violent protests on Monday. Reports say that the girl went to a nearby field by herself and that Ramlal, the accused, took her to a bush and attacked her. She went home and told her family right away, and they took her to Maharana Bhupal government hospital right away.
The police in Dabok filed a case under the POCSO Act. The police caught Ramlal, the suspect, on Monday morning after seeing him on CCTV. But a huge group of angry peasants gathered outside the police station to demand justice. When a false rumor spread that the girl had died while getting treatment, things got a lot worse.
Blocked Roads and Damaged Police Cars
The rumor made the mob angry, and they started throwing stones at police officers and setting fire to about 10 police cars. The protesters also damaged buses and obstructed highways, making things so chaotic that three police stations had to send people to restore order.
The Superintendent of Police (SP) Yogesh Goyal and other high-ranking police came to the spot to take care of the trouble. Additional SP Anjna Sukhwal said that the police had raided homes overnight to catch the people they were looking for. She also said that some of the young people who threw stones have been found and that they have been charged with getting in the way of public work.
Worrying Rise in Crimes Against Minors in Rajasthan
This is only one of many recent high-profile instances in the state that involve kids. A 6-year-old girl was raped and killed by her uncle in Dungarpur district, Rajasthan, only days before this happened. Authorities say that the uncle, who was drunk, kidnapped the girl as she was coming home from school, raped her near a pond, and then killed her by throwing a stone at her. The police detained the person who was accused the next day, on August 5.
According to the state’s Police Headquarters, crimes against women and children are on the rise, which is quite concerning. More than 200 incidences of gang rape were reported between January and June of this year. Sadly, five girls were killed after being raped. During this time, 1,631 cases were also reported under the POCSO Act.
The events have caused a political controversy in the state, with the opposition criticizing the government for how it deals with crime and the government opposing the “politicization of crimes against women.”