17-year-old blind girl raped in Ghaziabad

Ghaziabad: A 17-year-old blind girl was raped at her rented accommodation here in Uttar Pradesh. The incident came to light late Friday night when the victim cried out for help, police said. The girl was attacked on Wednesday, but it was not until late Friday that the police was alerted. She was found near a temple in Mohan Nagar area here where she cried out to the public for help. The police referred the victim to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for further counseling and shelter.

During counseling, the traumatised victim said that she originally belonged to Deoria district in the same state. She was living alone here in a rented accommodation in the Lajpat Nagar residential colony after her father died about 10 days ago. She had lost her mother earlier and while staying with her father in Mumbai lost her eyesight due to an adverse medicine reaction. The father and daughter had moved to the National Capital Region as she was seeking treatment for her blindness from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. Her father was working at odd jobs to collect the money needed for it.

When he suddenly passed, away she was left to fend for herself. On Wednesday night an intruder who came on a motorcycle barged into her room and raped her twice. The man then fled the spot after bolting her shut from outside. Later after gaining consciousness she raised an alarm. Hearing her cries, the landlord opened the door and rescued her.

However, when she told him about her attack, the landlord asked her to approach the police and vacate the accommodation, CWC Counselor Shalini Singh told IANS. The landlord also took away all her belongings saying they would be sold to adjust three month’s of rent that was due. The victim then managed to reach the Parswanath temple in the vicinity but did not manage any help for at least a day. She stayed in a park. It was not until a tea vendor heard her cries late on Friday that she was able to contact the police.

“Initially she was reluctant but due to our counseling she narrated all the sordid details,” Singh said. The victim was sent for a medical examination. A case was yet to be registered against an unidentified person. Her identity has been withheld as she is a juvenile, Singh added. Superintendent of Police (City) Akash Tomar said: “We are carefully examining the credibility of her statement to the CWC.”

IANS