2 peddlers from Kerala held in Karnataka; drugs worth Rs 4L seized

Patna, Jul 17: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a security guard at the Covid-19 quarantine center of the Patna Medical College Hospital where she was admitted after being rescued from a railway station, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Mahesh (40), was arrested on Wednesday night after being booked under the POCSO Act and other relevant IPC sections by the Pir Bahore police station, according to Arti Jaiswal, the in-charge of the women's police station here.

“The accused is being sent to jail while the victim will be undergoing medical tests on Thursday, as is the norm for all sexual assault survivors," Jaiswal said.

The girl had run away from her home in Nalanda district more than a week ago and reached Barh railway station on the outskirts of Patna to catch a train for Kolkata where her father is a daily wage-earner, police said.

She was spotted by Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel who informed the child helpline. The child helpline personnel, taking note of the girl’s tender age and her disturbed frame of mind, convinced her not to undertake the journey and brought her to the hospital’s quarantine ward for COVID-19 suspects as a precautionary measure, they said.

On the night of July 8, a few hours after the girl's arrival at the hospital, she was caught hold of by the accused inside the bathroom and allegedly raped. The accused also threatened her with dire consequences if she spilt the beans and, as per the FIR, kept harassing her sexually.

She finally decided to speak up when another girl, carrying a mobile phone, was similarly brought to the hospital by child helpline a couple of days ago. Using the fellow inmate’s phone, she narrated her ordeal to the helpline personnel who informed the police.

“Her Covid-19 test report is negative. After her examination, for the sexual assault, by a six-member medical board is over, she will be sent to a shelter home by the child helpline," Jaiswal said.

Meanwhile, state women’s commission chairperson Dilmani Mishra strongly reacted to the incident and said, “We are waiting for the medical reports of the girl. We will ensure that justice is done in the matter.”

Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 5: One man has been arrested in connection with the death of a pregnant elephant in Palakkad district here, Kerala Forest Minister K Raju said on Friday.

"One accused identified as Wilson has been arrested in connection with the case. More people are involved. The process to arrest all the accused is underway. Strict action will be taken in the matter to ensure such incidents are not repeated in the future," Raju told reporters here.

The elephant had died in Palakkad district on May 27 after it ate a pineapple stuffed with crackers and forest officials said that it died standing in river Velliyar after it suffered an injury in its lower jaw.

Raju said that the forest department has appointed three teams to probe the matter, and added that police are also investigating the incident as explosives were used.

"There may be some type of crackers inside the fruit. In such cases, blast occurs and the animal can not even drink water. The primary post mortem reports said that this case is like that. Let it be investigated," he said.

"Man and animal conflict is natural in our state as people residing close to the forests. The government gives compensation for farmers, Rs 10 lakhs compensation if a person dies in an animal attack," the Minister added.

The death of the pregnant elephant has sparked a controversy, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan terming the unfortunate death as "a painful thing" and Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that the Centre has taken a "serious note" of the incident.

According to the preliminary post-mortem report, the immediate cause of the death of the female elephant was drowning followed by inhalation of water leading to lung failure.

The elephant was seen standing in the river with its mouth and trunk in the water for some relief from the pain after the explosive-filled fruit exploded in its mouth.

New Delhi, Jan 18: Two men accused of kidnapping and brutally raping a five-year-old girl in Delhi in 2013 have been held guilty by a court in the national capital today. The POCSO court, which will announce the quantum of punishment on January 30, said, "In our society the minor girls are worshipped as goddess on certain occasions but in the present case the victim child had experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality."

"The crime against the victim was committed in a most grotesque and revolting manner and the collective conscience of the community was shaken," the court added while holding the accused - Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar - guilty.

The assault which took place just four months after Nirbhaya's brutal rape had grabbed headlines with its shocking details. The girl, who was named Gudiya by sections of the media, went missing and the police told her parents to look for her themselves. She was found two days later, tied in the basement of the east Delhi house she lived in with traces of candles and bottles inside her private parts.

The convicts had fled after raping Gudiya and shoving a candle and bottle inside her private parts, leaving her at Manoj Shah's room, after believing the five-year-old to be dead. The child was rescued 40 hours later on April 17, 2013.

Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar were arrested by Delhi police separately from Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga in Bihar respectively in 2013. The charge sheet was filed on May 24 that year and charges were framed by the court on July 11. But, it took more than five years to complete the recording of the statement of 57 prosecution witnesses in the POCSO court.

"Though the trial should have been completed in two years, we are happy we got justice," said the father of the girl.

One of the convicts, Manoj Shah, allegedly assaulted some reporters while being taken out of the courtroom.