A middle-aged man in Telangana’s Nirmal district was arrested by the police for allegedly raping a two-and-a-half-year-old child. The crime took place on October 4, and the man, a daily wage worker named Chintala Narayana, was arrested on October 6, Wednesday. According to the police, the man allegedly sexually assaulted the child after coaxing her away with the offer of chocolates, while she was playing with other kids on the road.
The incident happened on the evening of October 4, Monday, and the child reportedly narrated what happened to her mother. But it was reported to the police only on Wednesday night, when the little girl identified the accused Narayana in the neighbourhood and informed her mother, according to The Hindu. The mother then informed their neighbours and reported the incident to the police. According to the Times of India, the local residents allegedly roughed up the accused before handing him over to the police. The complaint said that the child was playing with her friends in her neighbourhood when Narayana allegedly promised to buy her chocolates and took her to an isolated area nearby and raped her.
Police said that the accused has been booked under Sections 361 (kidnapping from lawful guardianship), 376 (punishment for rape) and sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, 2012. They added that the accused has been arrested and steps were being taken to avoid any disruption in law and order in the region. The Hindu reported that authorities anticipated a law and order situation as the victim and accused belong to different religions, and deployed a heavy police force in the region prone to communal violence.
Earlier in September, the accused in a case of rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Saidabad, Pallakonda Raju, was found dead on railway tracks near Warangal after a week-long manhunt amid public outrage. While police claimed that it was a case of suicide, activists raised suspicion over the circumstances of his death. The Telangana High Court has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the circumstances of his death.