On August 12, the body of a young Dalit girl was discovered in a pond. Her family has alleged that the primary suspect, Sanjay Rai, had previously threatened to kidnap and rape the girl if they refused his marriage proposal.
Despite these allegations, no arrests have been made yet. The police have registered an FIR against Mr. Rai and five of his associates under various sections, including sections 103 (1) (punishment for murder) and 70 (2) (gang rape of a woman under 18) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act.
Additional charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 have also been filed.
The FIR indicates that on the night of August 11, Mr. Rai, along with the other accused, forcibly entered the family’s home, kidnapped the girl, and allegedly gang-raped her before murdering her.
Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police, Rakesh Kumar, stated that the investigation is ongoing, and the postmortem report has been received.
He noted that the victim had wounds inflicted by sharp weapons on her neck, head, and palm.
Mr. Kumar also mentioned that there were no signs of a struggle on the victim’s private parts. He added that a vaginal swab has been preserved and sent to a lab for testing, and the investigation will proceed based on the results.
The main accused remains at large, and efforts are being made to confiscate his property in anticipation of his arrest.
The incident has sparked a political outcry. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, criticized the state government, claiming that the “state-protected criminals and rapists” have become emboldened under the leadership of Nitish Kumar.
He highlighted this case among other similar incidents in his remarks.