Chennai: 18 held for allegedly raping 11-year-old for 7 months, they worked at her apartment complex
Chennai: 18 held for sexually harassing 11-year-old girl
The girl's ordeal had been continuing for seven months. She was hearing impaired
Eighteen men have been held in Chennai for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl for seven months, ANI reported Tuesday.
ANI said the accused included security guards, lift operators, and plumbers who worked at the apartment complex where the girl lives.
Chennai High Court Advocate Association President Mohana Krishnan has announced that no lawyer will take the case of the 18 accused.
News reports said the girl was hearing-impaired.
The reports said she was first raped by a lift operator.
Three days later, the reports said, the lift operator brought along two men reeking of alchohol, who also raped the minor girl. In time, other men joined in the crime.
The men would sedate the girl with drug-laced soft drinks, and then rape her. The reports said a total of 22 men raped the minor girl.
Police said the 300-flat apartment complex where the girl lived was largely empty, allowing the men to go about their crime largely unhindered.
The minor girl finally recounted her ordeal to her older sister when she came home for her vacation from college inDelhi.
India has recently seen a sharp spike in rapes of children.
National Crime Records Bureau data for 2016 showed an 82% rise in rapes of children compared to 2015. The highest rise was registered in Uttar Pradesh, where figures trebled.
2016 NCRB data also showed that out of all rape victims, four out of 10 (or 43.3%) were children (0 to 17 years of age).