Minor girl raped after she refused to withdraw molestation complaint against accused in Jabalpur

12-year-old girl raped in Jabalpur by man previously accused of molesting her, arrested after pressuring family to drop case.

A 12-year-old girl has been raped in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur by a man who was earlier booked for molesting her and had been pressuring the girl’s family to take back the case, police said on Tuesday (December 10, 2024), adding that the accused had been arrested. 

According to the police, Raj Kamal Chaudhary, 42, raped the girl on December 5 when she was alone at her home and that the matter was reported to the police on December 7. 

Superintendent of Police, Jabalpur, Sampat Upadhyay told The Hindu that the accused was arrested on December 8. 

“He had been constantly pressuring and threatening them to take back their previous complaint but the girl’s family never approached the police about it,” the SP said, adding that the survivor and the accused are neighbours.  

Rajrani Kaithvas, sub-inspector at the Kotwali police station, said the girl had filed a case in March accusing the man of molesting her. The case was currently in court.

“On December 5 around 5 p.m., the girl was alone at home as her parents, who are labourers, were out for work and her younger sister was playing outside. She was watching TV when the accused climbed through the terrace and raped her,” Ms. Kaithvas said. 

Mr. Upadhyay said a case with relevant rape charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act had been filed.