At least seven men have been arrested in western India after a 16-year-old girl claimed she was raped hundreds of times by hundreds of men in the latest horrifying case to highlight the country’s rampant sexual violence problem.
In a statement to India’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on November 11, the girl, who was homeless, said she was raped by 400 people in Beed district of Maharashtra state, according to CWC chairman Abhay Vitthalrao Vanave.
She named two policemen in her complaint, Vanave said. The girl was begging for money at a bus stop when she was allegedly forced into sex work by three men, Vanave said.
While the number of alleged rapists would be difficult to corroborate, the girl could identify at least 25 alleged perpetrators, he added.
The girl had attempted to file a police complaint against a man she accused of beating her up, but officers did not register it, Vanave said.
When contacted by CNN Monday, Beed police did not comment on the girl’s allegations against them.In a statement Monday, the force said it had registered cases against eight males — including one minor — pertaining to rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences law, which has more severe sentences of longer jail time.
They have also registered a case under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The girl told police she was married off at age 13 to a 33-year-old man who sexually abused her, according to the police statement.
She also told police she was sexually assaulted by her father, ultimately prompting her to leave both homes and sleep at the bus stop. Women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana said this was “the most tragic (rape) case in history.”
“This girl was tortured every single day,” she said, adding that police had failed to protect her. “We want strict action against all culprits.”