Police vehicles damaged, stones pelted as rape of 8-yr-old sparks protest in Udaipur village

In Udaipur, Rajasthan, the rape of an eight-year-old girl sparked violent protests on Monday, with locals damaging police vehicles, pelting stones, vandalising buses, and blocking roads.

Personnel from three police stations were deployed to control the escalating situation, according to The Indian Express report.

The assault occurred on Sunday evening when the girl, who usually accompanies her mother to an agricultural field, went alone to a nearby field. The accused, Ramlal, allegedly took her to a bush and raped her. After returning home and informing her family, the girl was rushed to Maharana Bhupal government hospital.

A case was registered at Dabok police station under the POCSO Act. Police arrested Ramlal on Monday morning after tracking him via CCTV footage, following his attempt to flee. However, enraged villagers gathered outside the police station, demanding action. Tensions escalated when a rumour spread that the girl had died during treatment.

A police source was quoted as saying, “This agitated the crowd, and they pelted stones at police personnel and set fire to around 10 police vehicles. The crowd got agitated and started vandalising buses passing through a nearby road and then blocked the road.”

SP Yogesh Goyal and other officers arrived to manage the unrest. Additional SP Anjna Sukhwal confirmed that police conducted overnight raids to apprehend the accused. She added that some youths involved in the stone-pelting have been identified, and a case for obstructing public work has been filed against them.

6-yr-old girl raped, murdered by uncle in Dungarpur

In a separate incident in Rajasthan’s Dungarpur, a six-year-old girl was raped and murdered by her uncle on August 4, police reported.

Aspur Deputy Superintendent of Police, Hanuwant Singh Bhati, stated on August 5, “The incident happened in the district’s Nithuwa police station. The victim’s body was found near a pond following which police started an investigation that revealed that she was raped by her uncle before the murder. We have also detained the accused on August 5.”

According to authorities, the girl had gone to a nearby location to study on Monday morning and subsequently went missing. Bhati explained, “She was later found dead near a pond a few hours later by her parents. She was immediately rushed to the hospital where it was revealed that she was also raped before the murder.”

A forensics team was dispatched to examine the scene, and police from Nithuwa, Aspur, Sagwara, and Dungarpur stations were deployed in the area. Bhati added, “Prima facie, her uncle, under the influence of alcohol, abducted her when she was returning home after her study cycle was over. He took her near the pond, raped her, and then killed her by hitting a stone at her head. He was absconding since then.”

The accused was apprehended on August 5.