A 17-year-old girl, who went missing from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on December 17 and was later found at her native place in Odisha, was allegedly gangraped. The incident came to light when the minor girl revealed the details of what happened to her to her parents on December 31. After the parents approached the Visakhapatnam police, a case was registered and 11 persons were arrested.
According to CH Vivekananda, Assistant Commissioner of Police for Disha which deals with crimes against women, the girl and her family had migrated to Visakhapatnam from Odisha about nine months ago. She was employed to look after an individual’s pets during his absence in the city.
“On December 17, the minor girl failed to show up for work. When the employer discovered that the girl had not arrived at their house that day, they informed the parents who in turn filed a missing person’s complaint. On December 23, the police located her at her native place in Panimundra village of Kalahandi district in Odisha. After returning home, the girl disclosed that she had been sexually assaulted by multiple men,” Vivekananda told TNM. It is not clear why she chose to go back to her hometown after the assault.
Upon receiving the information, the Visakhapatnam police filed a case under Section 346-D (gangrape) and 342 (wrongful confinement) under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides invoking the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “The crime took place in Visakhapatnam city between December 17 to December 23. Among the accused individuals, one has been identified as her male friend, and another an acquaintance of the male friend,” he said.
“Several teams have been deployed to various locations within Visakhapatnam to apprehend the alleged perpetrators. Police are searching for two more people who are allegedly in Jharkhand and are absconding,” he added