Minor Rape Survivor in Madhya Pradesh Sent to Accused's House by Officials, Sexually Assaulted Again

 Bhopal: A minor rape survivor in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna district was sent to the house of the accused allegedly by the officials of the local child welfare committee (CWC).

She was allegedly sexually assaulted again by the accused, police said on Thursday.

A case has been registered against ten people, including the chairman of the local CWC, its members and senior officials, in a police station in Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh under various sections of BNS and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, in connection with the incident.

According to the case diary, on January 16, 2025, a 15-year-old girl, a resident of a village in Panna district, went missing after she left for school.

Her family had filed a missing report in the local police station.

She was later rescued from Gurugram, Haryana, on February 17, 2025, along with the accused who hailed from another village and belonged to another caste.

He was arrested on charges of rape and kidnapping.

The case was later shifted from the Pann Kotwali police station in Panna district to Jujhar Nagar police station in Chhatarpur district.

The survivor was initially sheltered at the One Stop Center (OSC) in Panna.

She was later sent to the home of the accused’s sister-in-law allegedly by the local CWC.

The accused allegedly raped her again when he was out on bail, police said.

He has been arrested.

The survivor’s family later attended the public grievance hearing of the Panna district collector and requested him to restore the girl to them.

She was sent to the OSC following intervention by the Panna district collector.

The survivor had revealed the alleged sexual assault on her by the accused during her counselling in the OSC, according to the police.

The Chhatarpur police started investigation into it when her misery was highlighted by the local media.

The preliminary investigation by the police has suggested that the CWC had bypassed mandatory provisions while allegedly taking the decision to send the survivor to the home of the accused’s sister-in-law.