Elderly man among two held for raping minor girl in Chhattisgarh, luring her with Rs 10

A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times by two men, one of them aged 76 years, who lured her with Rs 10 whenever they committed the crime recently in Chhattisgarh's Balodabazar district, police said on Tuesday.

As per the preliminary investigation, the girl was raped over a couple of days before the incident came to light on Saturday due to a woman who alerted the child's parents.

The accused men, identified as Kunjram Verma (76) and Ramesh Verma (47), were arrested on July 31 based on a complaint lodged by the victim's parents who work as ragpickers, said Balodabazar kotwali police station officer (SHO) Yadumani Sidar. The incident came to light on Saturday when a woman from the victim's neighbourhood saw her coming out of the houses of the two accused and informed her parents, he said.

As per the complaint, Kunjram who stays in the same locality where the girl lives used to call her to his house promising to give her Rs 10 each time and rape her. Ramesh, who is known to Kunjram, also started sexually assaulting the girl luring her with the same amount of money, said the police officer.

''When a woman in the neighbourhood spotted the girl coming out of the houses of the two men, she informed her mother. After the girl narrated her ordeal, her parents lodged a case,'' he said.

The girl who complained of abdominal pains was shifted to a hospital where her condition was said to be stable, Sidar added.

The accused were booked on the charges of gang rape and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the SHO said, adding that further investigation is underway.

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