Nashik: Angry members of the public smashed and burnt scores of vehicles in Nashik on Sunday after reports emerged about a 15-year-old boy’s alleged rape of a five-year-old girl in Trimbakeshwar town in Nashik district on Saturday night. The police has detained the accused.
Guardian minister Girish Mahajan visited the crime spot on Sunday gave a call for maintenance of peace. According to police sources, the boy allegedly raped the child around 6.30 pm on Saturday evening in a village near Trimbak town. On being alerted, the police swung into action and detained the juvenile accused under sections related to rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Nashik Rural Police, through a press release stated that the accused enticed the survivor with sweets and took her behind a temple, where he allegedly raped her. No police officer was available on phone for comment.
Later, the incident led to a series of protests as the news spread that the victim and the accused belonged to different communities. The victim’s relatives demanded that the survivor be examined by a woman doctor from the Nashik Civil Hospital and sat on protest outside the hospital.
Residents of the victim’s village staged protests on the Mumbai-Agra National Highway, seeking to halt the traffic, and some vehicles had stones pelted at them as well. Tyres were burnt in Cidco town and Mahirwani town. Agitated locals also smashed police vehicles that arrived on the scene to control violence, which led to the policemen using tear gas shells.
The tension continued on Sunday and police reinforcements were sent to guard some areas in Nashik City and district. On Sunday, angry activists burnt scores of vehicles including ST buses on the Mumbai-Agra Highway and traffic snarls were reported as far as Kasara in Thane district.
Meanwhile, Mr Mahajan said, “Whatever happened is condemnable... Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam will be retained and the chargesheet will be filed immediately.”
(This story originally appeared in the Asian Age)
