15-Year-Old Boy Rapes A Toddler In Chhatisgarh, Where Is India Headed?

In a traumatising event, a 15-year-old boy raped, sexually brutalised, and eventually killed a three-year-old girl in a bathroom while the toddler kept screaming for help and the mother banged on the door. The horrid incident recently took place in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur district.

The boy took the little girl to his house and then to his bathroom where he sexually abused her. When the mother reached his house looking for his daughter, the boy’s uncle refused to open the door and told her that the boy was in the bathroom. Once the mother found out her daughter was in the bathroom and she banged on the door, she found her daughter in an unconscious state. The mother took her daughter to a private hospital where the child was denied treatment. On reaching a government hospital, the child was declared brought dead.

A case under the Indian Penal Code 1860 provisions on grounds of murder and rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered according to a report by Tatva India.

Where Is India Headed?

Unfortunately, this is just another crime that makes us reflect on the direction in which India is headed. With an average of rape cases registered in the country daily (NCRB 2021 data), India seems grappling with a crisis of safety for girls and women.

Girls and women continue to be vulnerable to such heinous crimes. Why? Inadequate law enforcement, the culture of impunity, patriarchal attitudes, to name a few contributing factors.

For instance, the minor in the case might be granted leniency or impunity for his horrifying act of rape under our justice system due to his age. Siddharth Chandrashekhar, Advocate and Legal Counselor, Bombay High Court said, "As heinous as the crime here, unfortunately, the child here is a minor (under the age of 18) and hence as per law will be treated as a minor under the Juvenile Justice Act which defines a minor as 'a person who has not completed eighteen years of age."

"Although the crime is utmost heinous section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act reads as: No child in conflict with law shall be sentenced to death or for life imprisonment without the possibility of release, for any such offense, either under the provisions of this Act or under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or any other law for the time being in force."

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Dire Need For Amendments

The gravity of the offense committed by the minor in this case cannot go unnoticed, however, if the law fails to serve full justice to the toddler, we once again fail as a society. The need of the hour is revisiting our existing laws and ensuring that justice is served without compromise, especially in such cases of sexual violence. Regardless of their age, the perpetrator should be given the strictest punishment to deter future crimes and send out a clear message that India's legal system has no room for mercy.

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There is a dire need for a zero-tolerance approach towards perpetrators of sexual violence to make India a safer and just country for one and all. What are your thoughts? Share with us on our social media handle. For more such stories, stay tuned!

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