Shock and disbelief gripped Uttarakhand on Monday after a four-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three minor boys at her school in Sitarganj of Udhamsingh Nagar district. While one of the accused is 6 years old, the other two are aged 10. All three were rounded up by the police and handed over to the Juvenile Justice Board. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon.

According to the Udhamsingh police, the accused minors were students of the same government school that the victim child had been attending for some days, although she had not been formally admitted. The police reported that all three accused were taken into custody and produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Tuesday.

Police stated that heavy security deployment was made in Sitarganj on Monday as the accused minors were from three different communities. A local police officer informed that the situation in the area was initially volatile as news of the incident spread rapidly, raising concerns about potential law and order problems. However, the situation was brought under control. The officer added that the heavy police deployment was a preventive measure to address possible communal tensions due to the different communities of the accused.

“It’s a gang rape in legal terms but the accused boys did not commit any sexual act. The victim child was persuaded to lie down and accused minors fingered her private parts leading to partial damage to her hymen. However, her physical condition was not in danger. She was sent home after medical examination and treatment in the presence of a police team,” Udhamsingh Nagar Superintendent of Police Manju Nath TC told The Statesman.

On Monday, the victim’s mother informed the police that her four-year-old daughter was gang-raped by three minors at the local state government school. According to the police, the victim’s mother said that her daughter went to school like any other day around 8 am but returned home crying after 2-3 hours. “When her mother asked why she was crying, the victim told her that three boys from her school had molested her private parts. Later, the girl’s mother visited the police station and lodged a complaint. The police registered a case against the accused and got the girl medically examined. On finding the allegations true, the police picked up the accused and handed them over to the Juvenile Justice Board. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon. We are now awaiting the Board’s judgment,” the Udhamsingh Nagar SP said.