On a day President Ram Nath Kovind promulgated an ordinance proposing stringent punishment, including death penalty, to those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years, there were reports of sexual assault on two minor girls in Odisha.
The two girls - one aged six years and the other four years -- were allegedly raped in Cuttack and Kendrapara districts and one person was arrested, the police said.
The six-year-old girl was raped, strangulated and left inside a school campus at Jagannathpur village in Cuttack district presuming her to be dead last evening, they said.
The girl had gone to purchase biscuits in her village but when she did not return after some time and there was a power cut, her family members set out to look for her along with villagers.
"After a frantic search for over an hour the girl was traced lying unconscious and without clothes in the school campus with blood oozing from her head and mouth," the police said.
She was immediately rushed to a nearby private nursing home from where she was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, Salepur sub-divisional police officer P K Jena said.
The condition of the minor girl is "very critical" as she suffered deep injuries in her head, face, neck and chest, doctors attending to her at the hospital said, adding there are injuries in her private parts.
A 25-year-old man of the same village was arrested today in connection with the incident, the SDPO said.
State Health Minister Pratap Jena visited the hospital and later told newsmen that a team of at least 13 doctors drawn from several departments are attending on the girl.
"The state government is bearing the entire cost of the treatment and the girl is under the special care of medicine specialists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, surgeons and radiologists in the ICU of trauma pediatric unit of the hospital," the minister said.
A case under the Pocso Act and IPC sections 376(2)(rape) and 307 (attempt to murder) was registered on the basis of a written complaint filed by the girl"s grandfather, Salepur police inspector D K Mallick said.
In the second case, a minor boy was taken in to custody today on the charge of raping a four-year old at Tikhiri village in Kendrapara district, police said.
The girl had been raped near the Paika riverbed on April 20 allegedly by the boy, who is student of a local school. The matter came to light following a complaint lodged by the girl's parents yesterday, they said.
Both the victim and the boy were medically examined and the sexual assault was confirmed, the police said.
The accused and victim's families are neighbours, the police added.
PTI
