Nagpur:
A school teacher in the Bhandara district of Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly raping a minor student. The 13-year-old was raped on February 20.
According to the complaint filed with the police, the girl was on her way to school when the 46-year-old teacher allegedly took her to his friend's house on the pretext of signing some documents and raped her.
This incident occurred within a week of the rape and murder of three minor sisters in Bhandara.
On February 14, the three sisters, aged five, nine, and 11 years old, went missing from Lakhani village in the district. Their bodies were found in a well two days later. A post-mortem report confirmed rape and murder.
The police, so far, have not made any headway in the probe.
Varsha Gaikwad, the state Women and Child Development Minister, visited the area today and said that if the accused are not nabbed within two days, the state Crime Investigation Department or CID should take over the investigations. Five hundred school children took out a silent march in the village today demanding speedy justice.
On Friday Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil had visited Lakhani and met the girls' family. "The police have some clues and are pursuing them actively. Ten special teams have been formed to investigate the case and teams have been sent to other states too in connection with the probe," he had said.
The Maharashtra government has announced financial assistance of Rs. 10 lakh to the family. The officer in charge of the local police station has been suspended for delaying initial inquiry in the case.