By Irving Feng
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
NEW DELHI, India – Violent protests erupted in Delhi after a seven year old girl was reportedly sexually attacked and raped by an unknown man while at school.
The young female victim was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital to be treated for her gruesome injuries after she was found lying in a pool of blood near her house. The police report places the girl missing around 8pm on February 28th, and she was allegedly raped by the at large perpetrator on school grounds.
Dr. Sanjay Kumar, the young girl’s treating physician, reported to the press that her injuries were consistent with a patient who had suffered a rape. Delhi’s chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, released a press statement calling the incident at the school “shameful” and “shocking.”
Protestors gathered outside of the hospital, in the Mangolpuri area of Northern Delhi, where the girl was being treated to show their outrage regarding the recent string of sexual crimes being committed against women in India.
India has been under intense international scrutiny over sexual violence against women after a student was raped and murdered on a local bus in December. In a separate incident, another seven year old girl in the city of Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh state, was raped, murdered and her body was dumped in a sewer. These sexual assaults have sparked protests across the nation.
This most recent incident involving the young girl being raped in the school has sparked demonstrations that turned violent outside of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. Police resorted to beating protesters with clubs in an effort disperse the angry crowd. The protestors retaliated by throwing stones at the police and caused damage to government property.
The protestors allege that the police have been doing a poor job at speedily investigating and resolving these heinous incidents of sexual assault. The police report for the girl’s rape in Mongolpuri district was not filed until March 1. Additionally, no arrests have been made yet, and police currently do not have any suspects.
Sushil Kumar Shinde, Home Minister in the area, told the press that at least one policeman had been suspended for their slow work of locating three sisters that had been abducted in Maharashtra last month. Police in the current case, however, have been making efforts to interview all employees of the school and parents of the children who attend the local school where the violent sexual attack occurred.
The young girl has yet to identify any suspects for the police to investigate. Rekha Gupta, chairperson for the New Delhi Municipal Council’s Education Committee, has vowed support for the family in the medical treatment of their child as well as full cooperation with the police during the investigation.
For further information, please see:
BBC – Delhi protest over ‘sex attack’ on seven-year-old girl – 1 March 2013
International Business Times – New Delhi Rape Crisis: 7-Year-Old Girl Abducted and Raped inside School – 1 March 2013
News Bharati – Minor girl raped inside Delhi school premises – 1 March 2013
Tiger News International – Another shocker from Delhi: 7-year-old girl raped inside municipal school – 1 March 2013
