A 12-year-old girl was raped, bitten multiple times and brutalised allegedly by two men working for the trust managing a famous temple in Maihar town of Satna district in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Friday.
The two men, who have been arrested, also allegedly inserted a hard object in her private parts on Thursday, police sources stated, but a senior official said this can be confirmed only after her medical examination report is received.
The profusely bleeding girl was admitted to a hospital at the divisional headquarters Rewa for advanced medical care, said the police, adding the accused were identified as Ravindra Kumar Ravi and Atul Bhadoliya.
"I am not denying that a stick or some other object was inserted into the 12-year-old's private parts by accused Ravindra Kumar Ravi and Atul Bhadoliya. But this is something that can only be confirmed only in a medical report. We are still awaiting her medical report. Yes she was bleeding and doctors are monitoring her health," Satna Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Gupta told PTI over the phone.
Her body bore bites and injuries which pertain to sexual assault, he said.
Asked about the condition of the girl, the SP said a panel of doctors treating her said her condition was 'okay at his point of time.
"We are taking legal action against the accused," Gupta said.
The accused, both aged 30, were on Friday produced in a local court which sent them in 14-day judicial custody, Gupta said.
The duo was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (punishment for rape), 376DB (punishment for gang rape on woman under 12 years of age), 366A (procuration of minor girl), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 34 (common intention) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police said.
In a related development, a press statement issued by the Maa Sharda Devi Mandir Management Committee, Maihar, bearing the signature of its administrator, stated they have sacked Ravi and Bhadoliya, employed with them, forthwith after a criminal case was registered against them.
Their indecent act has tarnished the image of the temple, said the statement.
The rape incident took place in Maihar, a temple town about 45km from district headquarters, another official said.
The accused allegedly lured the girl and took her to an isolated place, where they raped and assaulted her her, he said.
The police arrested the duo on Friday morning, Maihar sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Lokesh Dabar said.
The victim was admitted in the Rewa hospital after being administered first aid at Maihar, he said.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the police to take strict action against the accused and provide best of possible medical treatment to the girl.
Condemning the incident, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath said the victim was subjected to an inhuman attack that was reminiscent of the 2012 Nirbhaya case of Delhi.
The gruesome 2012 episode, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved rape and fatal assault on a 23-year-old woman in the national capital which caused nationwide outrage and triggered protests.
Such incidents with sisters and daughters have become a routine affair in Madhya Pradesh and it proved that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's government has failed to provide them security, Nath claimed in a tweet.
He demanded best medical treatment and a financial assistance of Rs 1 crore for the girl.
