Bihar: 2 Minor Dalit Girls Allegedly Raped, one Dies, Another Battles for Life

Patna: In a horrific incident, two minor dalit girls were allegedly raped in Patna district .One of the girls succumbed to injuries while the other one  is battling for life at a government-run hospital, police said on Tuesday.

Both the girls belong to Bihar's most marginalised dalit communities, Mushahar, who are considered the poorest of the poor and mostly live in a ghetto,  Mushahar Toli, outside the main villages.

Angry over the incident, local residents staged a protest and demanded action against the criminals.

The incident took place near Hinduni village in Phulwarisharif located on the outskirts of Patna.

According to Phulwarisharif police station officials, some local villagers informed the police that two minor girls were lying unconscious in a field not far away from the road leading to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police post. "When the police team reached there, it found one victim dead and another in serious condition”, an official said.

The deceased is hardly 8-10 years old and the other girl is 12 years old. Police has sent the dead girl’s body for post-mortem.

The survivor has been admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS Patna).

The families of the two minors told local police that both girls had left home on Monday in search of firewood for cooking. They failed to return home till late Monday night and were reportedly found thrown in a field. Both were found without their clothes, claim the families.

Police have lodged a case and has begun an investigation. "We are waiting for the post-mortem and medical report to make a headway in the case", a police official said.

Meanwhile, stories were doing the rounds in Phulwarisharif that the families of the minors were being forced to maintain silence by the “powerful” families of the accused in the village. However, the police refused to confirm this.