Class 10 girl gang-raped in Champawat; 1 held, 2 on run

Pithoragarh: A Class 10 girl was allegedly gang-raped at knifepoint by three men in Champawat after she went missing from a wedding function she had gone to attend about 20km from the town, police said. A case was registered against three accused under BNS section 70(2) and Pocso Act on the complaint of the survivor’s father, while one accused was arrested and two others were absconding.

Champawat superintendent of police Rekha Yadav said the minor had been living in Champawat town with her ailing father, who had come there for treatment. “She had gone to a village about 20km from Champawat town on Tuesday to attend her friend’s wedding function. On Wednesday morning, police received information that a minor girl had gone missing,” Yadav said.

Her father told police that she had called him around 1am, but the call got disconnected within seconds and her phone was switched off soon after. He went to the area to look for her, while police also started a search. “Police recovered the girl from a dairy. She said three persons raped her at knifepoint and later locked her in a room,” Yadav said.

Police sent the survivor to hospital for medical examination and cordoned off the area to collect technical and manual evidence. Yadav said police and special operation group (SOG) teams had been deployed at the spot because of the seriousness of the case, and legal action would follow on the basis of the medical report and evidence collected during investigation.

An eyewitness claimed the girl was found with her hands and legs tied. Police said the FIR was registered on the complaint of the survivor’s father against Vinod Singh Rawat, Naveen Singh Rawat and Puran Singh Rawat. Champawat SHO Laxman Singh said, “A case has been registered against three persons under BNS section 70(2) and Pocso Act. Police teams are working to trace the accused and further action will be taken as per evidence.”
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