Minor raped, one arrested in Diyun

ITANAGAR, 4 Aug: A 12-year-old girl was raped at Maitripur village in Diyun in Changlang district by a person identified as Priyo Dewan, of the same village.

The police have arrested Dewan and he has been taken into seven days’ police remand.

According to the minor’s relatives, the girl had gone to fetch water from the Noa-Dihing river on a bicycle at around 1 pm on 1 August. When she did not return past 5 pm, the family members started searching, but were unsuccessful in tracing her.

She was found early next morning by her aunt and grandfather in a semiconscious state and severely injured. The girl was able to tell them that she had been raped by Priyo Dewan after he had stopped her to help him fetch bamboo.

The girl was taken to Namsai for treatment. The doctors there said that she was agitated and semiconscious, with injuries all over her body.

The Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society (APWWS) has condemned the rape of the minor and expressed deep concern that rape cases are increasing at an alarming rate in the state. It urged the police to “promptly and properly investigate the case for early trial.”

Meanwhile, a team from the Miao unit of the APWWS met the family of the girl on Wednesday morning.

Odi Tamut Singhpo, the unit’s president, said that the child has been taken to Tinsukia in Assam for further treatment.

The Miao APWWS unit provided some monetary assistance to the family of the girl.