A 16-year-old girl has alleged she was raped by at least 400 men.
Seven men have been arrested in India in what is the latest shocking case of sexual violence in the country.
The girl, who was homeless, said she was raped by 400 men in Beed district of Maharashtra state, India’s Child Welfare Committee’s (CWC) was told.
The girl had been begging for money at a bus stop when she was allegedly forced into sex work by three men CWC chairman Abhay Vitthalrao Vanave said.
She was also allegedly sexually assaulted by two policemen when she tried to file a complaint. The girl is now two months pregnant.
A case has been registered under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and rape and molestation sections of the Indian Penal Code, India Today reports.
The girl told authorities she was married aged 13 to a 33-year-old man. Her husband allegedly sexually abused her, according to a police statement cited by CNN. She was also allegedly “beaten and ill-treated” by her in-laws.
She left that home and returned to her father — who did not take her back — so she began begging at a bus stop at Ambajogai in Beed district.
Women’s rights activist Yogita Bhayana described it as “the most tragic (rape) case in history.”
“This girl was tortured every single day,” she said.
“We want strict action against all culprits.”
Superintendent of Police in Beed Raja Ramasamy said that three people had been arrested. A statement from police said cases had been registered against eight men.
In a statement to the committee, the girl said, “I have been abused by many people.”
“I went to Ambajogai police station several times to file a complaint, but the police took no action against the culprits. Instead, I was harassed by a policeman.”
Indian Penal Code s 375 includes the defintion of rape as sexual penetration of a woman, with or without her consent, when she is under eighteen years of age.
A report in 2019 found there were 32,033 rape cases in India that year, or an average of 88 cases each day.
Earlier this year an Indian teen was gang-raped for an hour after being promised a COVID-19 vaccine.
In August a nine-year-old, “low-caste” girl was allegedly raped and murdered while fetching water, sparking protests in India.
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