Madhya Pradesh: Bulldozer Action Against Rape Convict Who Raped Another Minor After Release In Satna

The house of a rape accused was demolished in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh on Friday (18 August) in the presence of a substantial police force.

Notably, the accused was released recently after serving a ten-year prison sentence for raping another minor girl within the same district in 2012.

The 35-year-old accused Rakesh Verma was apprehended by police on Thursday. His house was demolished on the orders of the state's Home Minister Narottam Mishra after documents were received from the municipality.

A case has been registered against the accused under several sections including the POCSO Act and SC-ST (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Act. The accused was described as mentally ill by Mishra.

The five-year-old victim is currently in a critical condition and is receiving medical treatment at Rewa Medical College.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening when Verma abducted the girl from a local temple where she used to beg with her grandmother. The assault took place in a secluded area near the temple.

According to Satna's Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Gupta, the incident transpired when the girl and her grandmother were at the temple around 5:30 PM. Verma approached them, promising chocolates to the girl. He then took her onto his lap, causing her to cry. Her grandmother intervened, asking him to let the girl go, but Verma fled the scene with the child.

Following a search by her grandmother and locals, the unconscious and bleeding minor was discovered near a pond named "Jagat Dev Talab" around 7 PM. Verma was arrested at the scene, and the minor was taken to the district hospital and subsequently referred to Rewa Medical College for treatment.

Verma has been charged under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

This incident in Satna occurs just two weeks after a similar case in Kerala, where a man charged under POCSO, who was on trial in Delhi's Ghazipur district, allegedly raped and murdered a minor while out on bail.

Asafak Alam, originally from Bihar, was arrested in Kerala for the alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old daughter of migrant workers. It was revealed that Alam had a case registered against him in 2018 at the Ghazipur police station under sections 12 of the POCSO Act and 354, 354A of the IPC. He had spent a month in jail as an undertrial prisoner and was later released on bail.