A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped on the Howrah-Kurla Express near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh by an unidentified man who gave her a Rs 10 note after committing the crime before dumping her at the railway station, police said on Sunday.
However, police are trying to verify the girl’s claim whether she was sexually assaulted on the train or elsewhere as she was spotted in a serious condition in the market area of the city near Kotwali police station.
The girl was found near the Bhakt Kanwarram Market area profusely bleeding, following which she was admitted to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital on Saturday, Bilaspur SP Ratanlal Dangi said. He said the medical examination of the minor has confirmed that she was sexually assaulted. Police said the girl told them that she was travelling on the Howrah-Kurla Express on Friday night.
When she went to toilet on Saturday morning, an unidentified man followed her there and brutally raped her. Later, he gave her a Rs 10 note and dropped her at Bilaspur railway station.
“Though police have not been able to record her statement because she was seriously injured, the girl narrated a few things to Kotwali police when she was being taken to the hospital,” the SP said.
It is not known whether the girl was travelling alone or accompanied by somebody at the time of the incident. Police said she was unable to tell them how she managed to reach the city from Bilaspur railway station. The case has been handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) and efforts are on to ascertain the identity of the girl, the SP said. Meanwhile, the GRP has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for providing information of the accused and are scrutinising CCTV footage of the railway station.
Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Bilaspur Railway, B Ramakrishna said the condition of the girl was critical. “We will be able to talk to her only after two days when her condition may improve,” he added.
