Tortured 4-yr-old girl rescued near Rajula

Rajkot: A four-year-old girl, who was mercilessly thrashed for several days, was rescued from the coastal Chanch village of Amreli district and hospitalized in Rajula town on Monday.

Sources said that the girl used to live with her widowed mother near Rajula railway station. “About a month ago, a local social worker offered to take the girl to educate her to a family living in Chanch village. However, the girl was ill-treated there and beaten up regularly,” said Arvind Khuman, who runs a non-government organization (NGO) that offers legal aid to the poor in Rajula.

“Some people in Chanch informed the girl’s maternal uncle that she was being regularly tortured. So, he along with the girl’s mother went to fetch her. There was some ruckus there but somehow they managed to bring her to Rajula hospital. We got information about the girl’s condition and rushed. Her wounds were quite deep. There was a wound inflicted with a knife in between her fingers and lumps on her body,” Khuman said.

He added that they strongly suspect that the girl was sold to the Chanch family. “When her mother and maternal uncle went to fetch her, the family claimed they had purchased the girl,” said Khuman.

Deputy superintendent of police Rajesh Parmar told TOI that a complaint has been lodged in the case and that it will be investigated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). “We have lodged a complaint against the owner of the house where the girl was kept,” Parmar said, adding that more details will emerge only after investigation.