Sikkim: Three minors abused in just one week; investigation underway
The girl was checked by doctors and then went back to the grown-ups who look after her, after she told her story to the police.
LOCAL
In Sikkim, this week, three separate cases of young girls being hurt by men they knew have come to light. These events happened between June 6 and June 8 and involve three young victims, aged 14 and 15. Each girl was reportedly attacked by men they had trusted. Police have arrested two suspects, but a third man is still on the run.
The first upsetting story came to light on June 6 in Naya Bazar, which is in the Soreng area. A 14-year-old girl told her story to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Soreng. She said that her uncle took her to a spot near a tiger statue in a nearby town on June 6 and hurt her badly. The girl also shared that this was not the first time. She said her uncle, a 26-year-old man from Bara Samdong had been hurting her since she was just 12 years old. He would call her to different places almost every month to do these terrible things.
The head of the CWC in Soreng quickly told the Naya Bazar police about the incident. The police then opened a case under specific laws meant to protect children, called sections 4 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police arrested the accused on June 6 and he is now in police custody as they continue to look into the matter.
Just one day later, on June 7, another case came to light in Kaluk Bazar, which is also in the Soreng area. A second 14-year-old girl told the CWC that a man she called her "brother" had abused her. The man, a 20-year-old , who works at a garage and is from Madhepura, Bihar, reportedly took the girl to his rented room in Kaluk on June 3 and abused her. The girl said she was too scared to tell anyone at first. The accussed who had been living in Kaluk Bazar, was arrested on June 7 and is also being held by the police. This case, which was filed under sections 3 and 4(2) of the POCSO Act, is still being looked into.
The third sad story appeared on June 8 in the Gyalshing area. A 15-year-old girl, who had been living with a family in Lower Kyongsha for the past few years, said she was touched in a bad way by a man who operates a JCB machine and was staying at a house nearby. The girl said that on June 5, when she was alone, he came to her home, touched her body in a wrong way, bit her neck and kissed her. This incident was reported to the Child Helpline (which has the number 1098), and a person who helps children from the Child Helpline Unit in Gyalshing went to the girl’s home to talk to her and offer support.
The girl was checked by doctors and then went back to the grown-ups who look after her, after she told her story to the police. A case was started under certain laws from the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with sections 7 and 8 of the POCSO Act. But, the accused has run away and the police are still searching for him.