Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Dec 31: A ‘Dalit’ woman has been gang-raped by three persons at village Chowki in tehsil Nowshera while local Panchayat members tried to influence the poor family by mediating and offering money.
The victim is 25-year-old Madhu Balla (name changed), resident of Chowki in Nowshera. The victim told police that when she had gone to a nearby spring to fetch water, one Kaka Ram and Mohd Rafiq, forcibly took her to a nearby shop of one Madan Lal where all the three committed rape on her. She said that they also threatened to eliminate her and her husband if she narrated the matter to anybody.
The woman after two-three days shared the matter with her husband. The family then took up the matter with local Panchayat members and sought their help to get an FIR registered with police. Some of the Panchayat members siding with the accused tried to influence the family and also offered to provide them Rs 30,000 and also blacken the faces of accused during ‘Gram Panchayat’ session.
Meanwhile, victim’s parents and brothers also came to know about the matter and they reached there. They approached Guru Ravi Dass Sabha president Nowshera Master Som Raj and other Sabha members. Then the victim along with relatives and Sabha members moved to the office of SDPO Nowshera, Pardeep Singh today and narrated the whole matter. The incident took place on December 22 but the accused, using influence were trying to hush up the matter.
The SDPO recorded the statement of the gang-rape victim and directed the SHO Javed Malik to register an FIR and arrest the accused.
The police registered case FIR No. 306/ 2012 under Section 376 RPC and started investigation. The SDPO Pardeep Singh said that police parties were conducting raids to arrest the accused persons who were absconding. He said the FIR has been registered and the police will also look into the role of Panchayat members if they tried to threaten the victim and her family. They will also be booked for the offence.
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