House of 19yo rape accused razed hrs after assault charge

Bijnor: Hours after a 19-year-old boy was accused of raping an eight-year-old girl at a village in UP’s Amroha district, local authorities along with police demolished his house “built on a gram samaj land” and sent him to jail.According to police, the boy lured the Class 2 student with the promise of a ride in a buffalo cart around 3pm on Monday, and instead, took her to a field and sexually assaulted her. The girl, whose family works as a daily-wager, was taken to district hospital in critical condition. Both are from the same village and the boy belongs to a minority community. His family has now fled the neighbourhood.After the incident, SP Lakhan Singh Yadav visited the village and then the hospital. The girl’s statement was recorded. During the SP’s inquiry, it was found that the accused’s house had allegedly “encroached upon a gram samaj land”.A revenue department team was dispatched to the site for verification, and they affirmed the “illegal act”. Police and administrative teams were subsequently sent. In their presence, the accused’s house was demolished around 10pm the same day.Additional SP (Amroha), Akhilesh Bhadauria, said, “An FIR has been registered against the accused under sections 65 (2) (rape), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of BNS alongwith sections 5 (m)/ 6 of Pocso Act and 3 (1) of SC/ST Act. The accused has been arrested.”Incidentally, there have been stern observations by courts on “punitive demolitions” in the recent past. Allahabad HC, earlier this year, while hearing a matter, questioned UP govt whether demolishing a structure immediately after the commission of an offence is a “colourable exercise” of power by the state. The HC further stated that authorities had continued despite the Supreme Court’s Nov 2024 ruling that “bulldozer justice is unacceptable under the rule of law”.