New Delhi: In yet another shocking case of crimes against women, two sisters aged 11 and 13 years were allegedly raped by their mother’s paramour in Delhi for many months, as the courts yesterday expressed concern over rising rapes of women, especially minors. Taking a serious note of sexual assaults on women, especially the barbaric rape of a five-year-old girl ten days ago, the Delhi High Court commented that “something somewhere is wrong”.
The Supreme Court also commented on the prevailing situation and said the framers of the constitution did not visualise such incidents or provide for provisions to deal with them.
The comments came as the police arrested Rakesh Mishra, 35, a motor mechanic, for sexually assaulting the two girls for several months. Mishra was in an illicit relationship with the girl’s mother. He was staying with them for the past one year.
The victim’s mother works as a domestic help.
“The accused had been staying in the victim’s house in Shahbad Dairy area for the past one year and raped the sisters several times,” a senior police officer said.
On Wednesday night, the elder sister approached a neighbour and told her about the assault, who in turn informed the police. Police said medical examination confirmed rape.
The accused belongs to Uttar Pradesh’s Kushi Nagar and is married with five children.
Sexual attacks on minor girls continued to be reported from different parts of the country.
In Patna’s Muzaffarpur district, a 50-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping a six-year-old girl who was playing outside his shop. The accused, identified as Qamrul Hoda, was arrested on Wednesday evening. The incident triggered angry protests in the area.
In another rape case, police arrested a youth, Raju Rishideo, who allegedly sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in a village under Alamganj block in Madhepura district.
Bihar has seen at least half a dozen cases of rape and gang rape in the last four days.
In Bhubaneswar, President Pranab Mukherjee said the increase in cases of brutal assault on women and children had shaken the collective conscience of the nation.
“Such criminal depravity is a threat to the civilised functioning of society. The society must ensure the dignity and respect for women,” he said.
Commenting on the rape of a five-year-old girl in the city, a division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Jayant Nath said: “Are people going mad? A five-year-old has been raped... Some sort of awareness is needed.”
IANS
