KHOTANG, Aug 20: A seven year-old-girl was raped in Khotang last Saturday. The girl became a prey of the rapist as she wandered off her home to play. Her family knew about the incident after she came home crying.
Similarly, a disabled girl of southern part from the district headquarters was raped last Thursday. The teenager was raped while she was alone at home. She could not defend her from the rapist as she cannot even speak.
Babin Rai, 18 of Khidima-1, who allegedly raped the seven-year-old-girl and Singha Bahadur Rai of Temma-4, the alleged rapist of the disabled girl, have been arrested by the police.
Similarly, a 13-year-old girl was molested while she was collecting fodders in her field some six weeks ago in a village adjoining the district headquarters Diktel.
2 jailed for raping underage girls
In the aforementioned incidents, the victims were raped or molested while they were alone and away from their parents. Investigation of the police too shows that lonely girls and daughters are unsafe and vulnerable to rape.
According to Police Sub Inspector Manoj Yadav at the complaint section of District Police Office (DPO), Khotang, lonely girls, disabled women and teenagers are highly vulnerable to rape. He said that rapists take undue advantage of small and disabled girls, who cannot defend themselves and they can be easily lured.
The DPO Khotang informed that three rape incidents have been recorded in last one month. Out of the three incidents, one is sexual harassment case.
During the last fiscal year, six rape cases and five sexual harassment cases were registered at the DPO.
Purnamaya Tamang, a woman's rights activist working in the district, said that parents and guardians should be cautious about the safety of their daughters. She said that in most of the cases women have been raped while they were gone to jungle to collect fodder and fire woods and small girls were victimized while they were alone at home.
