A village Panchayat in the Purnia district of Bihar has directed a 10-year-old girl to not go to cops to lodge a complaint against her alleged 13-year-old molester but instead, wait for another 8 years and marry him. The decision reportedly came after the boy allegedly admitted to his crime.
According to a report in Times of India, the parents of the minor girl did listen to the Panchayat for at least two weeks and did not got to police but finally did file a complaint with the local police station after SP’s intervention. The report confirmed that the police officials has arrested the accused after a FIR was filed against him.
The incident occurred on May 23 when the girl who studies in Class 6 of a government was on the terrace of the of her house. The boy allegedly assaulted her on the terrace. “Deputy SP Sunita Kumari has recorded the statement of the girl. Five other members of the boy’s family, who had allegedly misbehaved with the girl’s family during the panchayat meeting, have also been named in the FIR,” the daily quoted the SP as saying.
The police official further stated that the girl lives with her mother and her father had abandoned them and was apparently living with another woman. It was the girl’s grandmother who filed the complaint. “The girl resides at her maternal place along with her mother. Her father deserted them and married another woman. The FIR has been lodged by girl’s maternal grandmother Sarvati Devi. The family has a small plot of land at the village,” the SHO told Times of India.
