Girl, seven, is ‘gang-raped by boys aged seven and eight’
A seven-year-old girl has allegedly been gang-raped by two boys aged seven and eight in the latest horrifying sex attack in India.
The boys are accused of raping the young girl in the city of Ballia, in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, local media reports.
The victim’s family said that the girl was having a bath when the boys lured her away to another location where they gang-raped her.
Police added that her family took the seven-year-old to the hospital when her health deteriorated on Saturday. She is not considered to be in life-threatening condition.
Both boys were arrested and questioned, reportedly admitting to the gang-rape.
The horrifying rape comes after just a month after thousands of women took to the streets of India to call for measures to tackle sexual violence, after a trainee doctor was savagely raped and murdered at a state-run hospital in Calcutta.
Thousands of women took to the streets of India in August to call for measures to tackle sexual violence
The boys are accused of raping the young girl in the city of Ballia, in Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, local media reports
The largest event, described as a ‘Reclaim The Night’ march, saw thousands of protesters gathering at the city’s busy Shyambazar five-point crossing at the start of the country’s Independence Day celebrations on August 14
Smaller protests were held other Indian cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune.
The largest event, described as a ‘Reclaim The Night’ march, saw thousands of protesters gathering at the city’s busy Shyambazar five-point crossing at the start of the country’s Independence Day celebrations in August.
The event’s main organiser, 29-year-old social science researcher Rimjhim Sinha, said she hoped the protest marked the start of structural change in the country, which has long been plagued by gender-based violence.
The horrific crime that sparked the nationwide protest saw a 31-year-old female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital get raped and killed while she was on duty, resting in a seminar hall that was meant to be secure.
Officials, including principal of the medical college Dr Sandip Ghosh, tried to dismiss the death of the young woman as a suicide.
Ghosh, who has since resigned from his prestigious post, said: ‘It was irresponsible of the girl to go to the seminar hall alone at night.’
A volunteer hospital worker associated with the Calcutta police named locally as Sanjay Roy has since been arrested in connection with the sick attack.
The murder and rape case has since been taken over by the country’s Central Bureau of Investigation, amid claims that the local force would not investigate it fairly.
Sinha said: ‘The brutality of this case is enraging. It’s not just another rape case where survivors can speak for themselves – this time, we lost a life.
‘The aggressiveness of these crimes is escalating, and it’s clear that women are increasingly becoming victims of these criminal activities.’
