10-year-old raped for over 3 months, accused booked

NEW DELHI: A 10-year-old girl in Bhopal was allegedly raped for more than three months by three men which included a 65-year-old watchman.

Identified as Nanhu Lal, 65, Gokul Panwala, 45, and Gyanendra Pandit, 36, the accused were arrested on Thursday.

They have reportedly been sent to judicial custody till November 29.

"The victim, a Class V student, was last raped on November 12.Her mother noticed that she was looking sad and unusually quiet from the last few days. When she asked if anything was wrong, the girl initially did not speak, but later narrated her ordeal to her mother. She registered a complaint with the police," Jehangirabad Police Station Inspector Preetam Singh Thakur told PTI.

"The accused were thrashed by angry locals when they were taken to their houses to gather evidence as part of police investigation," Thakur added.

The accused who lived in the same area had threatened the girl and asked her not to reveal the matter to anyone.

They have been charged under sections 376D (gangrape) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) of IPC.