Two 5-year-old girls rapedin Gaya & Rohtas, one dies

Gaya/Sasaram: Two disturbing incidents involving the rape of five-year-old girls kept police on the toes in Gaya and Rohtas on Tuesday. In the first case, a five-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped late Monday night in a village under the Sherghati police station area in Gaya district. Her body was found on Tuesday morning on the bank of the Morhar river. In the second case, another five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her 45-year-old neighbour while playing outside her home in Rohtas district on Monday afternoon, police said on Tuesday.In Gaya, locals helped the police arrest two suspects, Sandeep Kumar and Gautam Paswan, within hours of the crime. "A special investigation team, led by Sherghati sub-divisional police officer K Ramdas was formed to probe the case. A dog squad and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team were also involved in gathering evidence from the crime spot," said Gaya senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ashish Bharti. He added that a case was lodged against the suspects under the POCSO Act, based on the written complaint filed by the girl's father.According to the police, the accused abducted the girl while she was sleeping on a carpet beside her father outside their small hut. When the girl was found missing, villagers initiated a search and eventually found her body on the riverbank.In Rohtas, the FIR was registered on Tuesday on the basis of a written complaint submitted by the rape survivor's father, a labourer. The accused, Bhagawat Pandey, allegedly lured the girl to his house with the promise of chocolate before raping her. The child, bleeding profusely, managed to return home and inform her elder sister, who then sought help. SHO Vijay Kumar said raids were on to arrest Pandey. The girl was initially treated at a private nursing home before being sent to Sasaram Sadar Hospital for a medical examination.