A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 15-year-old boy in a village under the jurisdiction of the Chabbewal police station in Hoshiarpur district, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Tuesday night when the victim accompanied her family to their workplace at a local brick kiln. According to the police, the girl went to a nearby makeshift shelter (jhuggi) to retrieve a pair of slippers she had left behind.
When she failed to return, her parents went to the shanty to look for her. After a brief search, they discovered her in the nearby bushes, where they allegedly caught the minor accused, a boy living near their shelter, raping her. The boy fled upon being spotted.
Following a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, the police registered a case under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Chabbewal station house officer (SHO) Harjit Singh said that the families of both the victim and the minor live nearby, work at the same brick kiln, and hail from Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun district.
The 15-year-old was apprehended on Wednesday and produced before a juvenile court, which subsequently ordered him to be sent to a juvenile home.
