A case of the rape of a minor from the Dalit community has come to light in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh. The accused persons, in this case, have been identified as Junaid, Arif, and Jamiruddin. Junaid is said to have held a minor hostage and raped her for hours. The other two accused persons tried to threaten the family of the girl and offered them Rs 2-4 lac to cover up the incident. The police have started the investigation by registering an FIR against all three accused persons.
The incident is said to have taken place in the Hafizpur police station area of Hapur. On 22nd March (Friday), the father of the 14-year-old Dalit girl lodged a complaint with the police. In the complaint, he said that on 21st March 2024, at around 3:30 pm, his daughter had gone to hang the dry clothes. Meanwhile, Junaid, son of Imam Khan from the same village, reached there. He covered the girl’s mouth, grabbed her, and took her with him to the basement of Jamiruddin’s dairy. He then kept the victim hostage and raped her.
उक्त प्रकरण के संबंध में थाना हाफिजपुर पर अभियोग पंजीकृत है, अग्रिम विधिक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।
— HAPUR POLICE (@hapurpolice) March 23, 2024
During this time, some children playing nearby heard the screams of the victim. Junaid ran away from the spot after the children reached to see what was happening. The victim reached home and told her family about the incident. Later, her father decided to report the matter to the police and left for the police station the next day. On the way, he met Jamiruddin and Arif from the village. They stopped the victim’s father and put pressure on him to cover up the matter, calling it a minor incident.
The accused offered Rs 2-4 lakh to the victim’s father to keep his mouth shut. When the complainant refused to compromise, Jamiruddin and Arif abused him by using caste-related slurs. Not only this, both of them also threatened to eliminate the entire family of the victim. The accused Arif and Jamiruddin said, “Anyway Dalit girls are meant for this only.”
The victim’s father, extremely scared, reached the police station, and demanded strict action against the accused. Based on the complaint filed by the victim, the police have registered an FIR against Junaid, Jamiruddin, and Arif. Apart from sections 376, 452, 342, and 506 of IPC, they are all booked under SC/ST and POCSO Act.
OpIndia has the complaint copy. OpIndia spoke to the father of the victim girl. He said that the Muslim population in the village where he lives is about 92%. He also said that his family members are now facing problems after the crime against them. The victim’s uncle said that the main accused Junaid is about 42 years old, and that he earns money through illegitimate means.