After Kolkata horror, now minor gang-raped in Jodhpur govt hospital; 2 arrested

The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday night when the minor, who had left home after an argument, had gone to the hospital and was found by the two accused.

Jaipur: Another horrific incident of gangrape of a 15-year-old minor in the premises of government-run hospital in Jodhpur has come to light, with the police said to have detained two accused, one of whom was earlier employed at the hospital.

The incident occurred on Sunday night (August 25) when the minor girl was found roaming alone in the Mahatma Gandhi hospital premises by the two people. They struck up a conversation with her and lured her to an isolated spot behind the hospital’s bio-medical waste section, where the two allegedly committed the crime.

The minor incidentally had left her home on Sunday evening after a tiff with her family members without informing anybody. The family then lodged a missing report with the police at the Soorsagar police station and also filed a FIR saying someone must have lured her.

On Monday, the police found her in the hospital premises in a disheveled and distraught state and took her to the police station, where she gave a statement to police about having been gangraped. The police have lodged FIR against the two youths, accusing them of gangrape and have framed charges under the POCSO Act. A medical examination of the minor girl has been conducted and a forensic team has collected evidence from the crime site,

Nishant Bharadwaj, additional deputy commissioner of police, Jodhpur (West) confirmed to the Deccan Herald that two accused have been detained and are being questioned.

Hospital Superintendent Fateh Singh Bhati said the two accused were not presently on their rolls or on contract in their hospital. But one of them may have been employed in the hospital on a contractual basis earlier.

The latest government data from Rajasthan reveals that crimes like rape, gangrape, especially of minors have increased as compared to the same period (Jan to June) last year. Until June this year, there has been an overall decrease of 1.52 per cent in crime against women. The total number of cases registered till June this year was 20,767, while the number last year was slightly higher with 21,087. However, there has been an increase of 8.03 per cent each in rape of women and minor girls and also an increase of 10.28 per cent in abduction of women.

Incidentally BJP had come to power in December 2023, criticising the rising crime graph against women during the Congress regime and had promised to reverse the trend.