Locals in UP's Saharanpur Thwart Rape Attempt, Hand over Accused to Cops

Noida: Local residents of Gangoh town in UP’s Saharanpur district thwarted a rape attempt by two men on an 18-year-old girl and later handed the two over to a police patrol vehicle nearby. Police said the two were attempting to “outrage the girl’s modesty” and even clicked objectionable pictures of her against her will. A case has been registered against the two.

“The incident took place on Monday. The girl was alone at home since her parents had gone out. The two boys, Ravi Garg and Sunny Kumar, both 22, lived in a nearby neighborhood. They found out that she was home alone so they broke into the house and started misbehaving with her. They even clicked objectionable pictures of her,” said Sanjeev Kumar, station officer at Saharanpur’s Gangoh Police Station.

During this incident, the girl started to scream for help and local residents rushed in to help her. “She began screaming loudly for help. Some of her neighbors heard the screams and alerted everyone around them. They quickly rushed into the house and stopped the boys from violating the girl any further. A police patrol van was stationed not very far from the spot of the incident and when it learnt what had happened, police rushed to the spot. The local residents handed the two over to the police,” Sanjeev Kumar added.

Police said the two have been taken into custody and a case, under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty). A string of rape cases have been reported across India after the Kathua and Unnao rape cases. On Monday, an eight-year-old was raped and strangled in Etah district. The incident took place during a wedding when parents of the girl were busy and a teen lured the minor to a half-built house and allegedly raped her. In UP’s Mahoba district, a 10-year-old girl was raped by her own father, following which her mother registered a police complaint in the case.

These are the latest in a string of cases of violence against minor girls across India. While CBI is investigating Unnao girl’s allegations against BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, eight lawyers were named in an FIR for obstructing policemen while filing chargesheet in Kathua rape case. Meanwhile, body of an unidentified minor girl was found in Gujarat's Surat with 86 injury marks.