Gang rapes minor girl

TT, Ranchi, June 21: A 15-year-old tribal girl was kidnapped by seven men in front of her boyfriend and gang-raped in a forest in Bundu, 40km from the capital city, in the small hours today.

The survivor - a Class XI student of a government high school in Tamar - has been sent for medical examination, the report of which is awaited.

Police have managed to arrest two of the accused with the help of villagers and are hunting for the absconding quintet.

According to residents of Madhikama village, where the teenager from a neighbouring hamlet was attending a wedding, the torment took place a kilometre away at Kusum Tikar forests around 2am.

"She danced and sang till midnight with her friends at the wedding after which she went to meet her mita (a term used for boyfriend in some tribal communities) in a nearby mango orchard. A gang of seven saw them alone, overpowered the boy and whisked her away to the forest," a villager said.

The boyfriend was, however, smart enough to rush back to Madhikama for help. A group of villagers followed his lead and caught two of the perpetrators from the forest before the other five could force themselves upon the girl. They fled the scene.

Bundu thana OC inspector Sanchman Tamang said the arrested duo had been identified as Mukesh Lohar (18) and Brajeshwar Munda (20), residents of the same village where the girl was attending the wedding.

"An FIR under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint) and 376 (rape) of the IPC and various sections of POCSO Act has been registered. The arrested men were produced in court and forwarded to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar today," OC Tamang said, stressing that they were looking for the other accused.

"The schoolgirl was rescued after two of the seven allegedly raped her. We sent her to Ranchi Sadar Hospital for examination. The medical report is awaited," the OC added