Justice Served: Authorities Razed Houses of Rape Accused in Madhya Pradesh

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh demolished the houses of two men accused of raping young girls after finding the structures were built on encroached land. The actions, taken in Sendhwa and Burhanpur, followed protests demanding strict actions against the accused.

Local authorities on Thursday pulled down the house of a man, accused of raping an 11-year-old girl in Sendhwa town of Madhya Pradesh's Barwani district, after they found that it was built on encroached land, an official said.

In a similar action in Burhanpur, located around 170 km from Sendhwa, the authorities pulled down the illegally built portion of the house of a man accused of raping and killing a six-year-old girl, another official said. The accused in the Sendhwa case, a 35-year-old autorickshaw driver, allegedly raped the girl on Tuesday night, following which he was arrested. ''The kutcha house of the accused that was built on encroached land was demolished this evening,'' Sendhwa Chief Municipality Officer (CMO) Madhu Choudhary told reporters.

The incident of rape had triggered protests with people demanding strict action against the accused.

Some organisations also held protests at a local police station on Wednesday demanding that the house of the accused be pulled down as a mark of punishment to him, and the authorities had assured the protesters of strict action against him. Following the demands, a team of the local municipality took measurements of the house of the accused for further action, he said.

In Burhanpur, the illegally-built portion of the house of the man accused of rape was razed in a joint operation by the administration, the local civic body and the police by using bulldozer,'' Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Antarsingh Kanesh told PTI.

Local people expressed happiness over the bulldozer action against the accused, eyewitnesses said.

The accused was arrested for allegedly raping and strangling a six-year-old girl on May 18 before dumping her body in a dilapidated house. The police had recovered the child's body from the unoccupied house in the Shikarpura police station limits on Monday, two days after she went missing from her home, an official said.

After receiving a short post-mortem report, the police added sections 302 (murder), 201 (destroying evidence), and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in the case, Superintendent of Police Devendra Patidar said.

Following the probe, the police arrested the accused, Gaurav alias Khushal, who confessed to the crime, he said.

As per the probe, the accused had lured the girl to his house when he was alone on the afternoon of May 18, and then raped her and strangled her to death, the official said.

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