Rautahat, March 30

Bijayapur Area Police Office made a person accused of raping a minor public today.

Police identified Nawal Paswan, 18, of Phatuwa Bijayapur Municipality as the rape accused.

Police said Paswan had raped an eight-year-old girl of the same village while she was heading towards a nearby shop to buy cooking oil on Saturday night.

Locals heard the girl screaming. They gathered at the spot and held the culprit and handed him over to the police the same night. Police said that the girl’s health check-up was carried out at Chandrapur Hospital and further investigation into the case was under way.

Earlier, Bhagyanarayan Sah, 28, of Katahariya Municipality had also raped a 17-year-old girl of the same area after calling her to his house on March 26.

Police said Sah had taken advantage as there were no one at home that day. The accused also threatened the girl saying he would make the video public if she told anybody.

The girl, however, told her mother about the incident and her guardians reached out to the police.

DSP Gyan Kumar Mahato of Garuda Area Police Office said a case had been filed against the culprit and further investigation into the video was under way. Police said two girls were raped when security personnel were deployed to implement the lockdown in the district.

Locals said girls and women had become unsafe in rural areas during the lockdown.