Man arrested for raping 6-month-old girl in Andhra Pradesh

VIZIANAGARAM: A six-month-old girl was allegedly raped by a 40-year-old man at Jeeluguvalasa village in Ramabhadrapuram area of ​​Vizianagaram district on Saturday. The incident came to light after the accused was arrested on Sunday morning.

According to Bobbili DSP Srinivas Rao, the girl’s mother had gone to a nearby grocery store with her 10-year-old elder daughter to get groceries. Before leaving, she had bathed the baby and put her to sleep in her cradle.

The accused, identified as Boyana Yerrakanna Dora of the neighbouring village of Nerellavalasa, was a family member of the toddler and frequently visited their house. On Saturday, he entered the house when no one was present and committed the crime.

The DSP said, “When the baby started crying, the mother sent the elder daughter to see what had happened. The ten-year-old saw Dora holding the baby, who was bleeding from her private parts. She rushed back to her mother and told her what she had seen. The mother then rushed home and confronted the accused, who was drunk. When he tried to escape, she attacked him with a stick. Nevertheless, he managed to escape. The villagers chased him, but in vain.”

The baby was taken to the government hospital in Badangi and later shifted to the Maharani Mother & Child (Ghosha) Hospital in Vizianagaram. The condition of the little girl is said to be stable.

Case filed under Section 65 (2) of the BNS

The girl’s mother filed a complaint with Ramabhadrapuram police and on the instructions of Vizianagaram SP, Bobbili DSP Srinivas Rao registered a case and initiated an investigation.

On Sunday, police arrested Dora from his residence and booked him under Section 65 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (whoever rapes a woman below 12 years of age shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than 20 years) and corresponding sections of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. The DSP said Dora, a labourer, committed the crime under the influence of alcohol. Police also seized the blood-stained cradle and clothes of the accused and sent them to a forensic laboratory.

Condemning the incident, Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Rural Poverty Eradication Society and NRI Empowerment and Relations Kondapalli Srinivas visited Ghosha Hospital and spoke to the victim’s family and assured them of justice.

Gummadi Sandhya Rani, Minister for Women and Child Welfare and Tribal Welfare, condemned the heinous crime and urged decisive action to curb such barbaric crimes.