Six-Year-Old Raped At A Wedding Venue In Delhi, Accused Arrested: Report

Minor Raped During Wedding Ceremony In Delhi: A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped and left in a critically injured state by a 28-year-old man during a wedding ceremony in New Delhi. The survivor is undergoing treatment at a hospital while the accused has been arrested and charged by the Police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act.

The incident took place on December 19, Sunday, when the survivor and her family had gone to attend a wedding ceremony at a community hall in Ranjit Nagar, New Delhi. According to the report filed, the accused allegedly took the survivor to an empty room under the pretext of giving her a book.

When her family could not locate the child, a frantic search for her ensued. She was in one of the rooms at the wedding venue, covered with blood. The girl's relatives then took her to a hospital nearby, where the doctors informed them that the survivor had been raped.

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Police started the investigation upon being notified about the incident and questioned the 200 guests that were present at the ceremony. The accused was seen carrying the child on CCTV footage from the venue. The man was then arrested and charged by the police under POCSO as well as sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with rape on Monday. However, further investigation in the case is still on.

As per the report by the National Crime Bureau (NCRB), 99 percent of crimes reported against children in 2020 were against girls. Out of 28,327 registered under POCSO Act, 28,058 were related to girls. The crimes were highest in the age group between 16 and 18-year-old girls, amounting to 14,092 reported cases. While between 12 and 16 year-olds, it was 10,949 reported cases.

The NCRB data was released in September this year. It stated, "The cases registered under crimes against women, children and senior citizens, theft, burglary, robbery, and dacoity have therefore declined, whereas COVID related enforcement has resulted in an increase of cases registered under 'Disobedience of order duly promulgated by Public Servant (Section 188 of IPC)', under 'Other IPC Crimes' and under 'Other State Local Acts'." Read more here.