A distressing incident unfolded in Palma village, Gumla district, Jharkhand, where a three-year-old girl was subjected to rape. The village panchayat’s response was to impose a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the accused, Sunil Lohra, in an attempt to conceal the crime. Fortunately, police intervention prevented the case from being hushed up.
The accused, Sunil Lohra, was instructed by the panchayat to pay Rs 20,000 immediately for a feast involving meat and liquor, with the remaining Rs 80,000 to be settled within a week. However, law enforcement was alerted, leading to the registration of an FIR and the subsequent arrest of the perpetrator.
Authorities revealed that pressure from villagers initially deterred the victim’s family from reporting the incident to the police. It was only after the police were informed that the victim’s mother provided her statement, leading to the registration of the FIR and the arrest of the accused.
The appalling incident occurred when Lohra visited the victim’s home and took the child to a room under the guise of looking after her. Subsequently, he sexually assaulted the child, resulting in her distressing cries that alerted the mother. Despite the severity of the crime, the matter was taken to the panchayat instead of being reported to the police.
The victim’s family accused certain panchayat members of taking the child to a private doctor and then deciding, during a public meeting, to levy a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the accused to resolve the issue locally. Notably, Rs 20,000 of the fine was promptly paid by the accused, funding a feast that was in progress when the police intervened.
Ongoing investigations are in progress, with further details awaited on this distressing incident in Jharkhand.
