Infant victim's rape not confirmed, election rivalry behind complaint

The allegation of rape of a 28-day-old girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahar district, which had triggered widespread rage, turned out to be ‘false’ and the result of an election-related rivalry.

A senior police official in Bulandshahar said on Thursday that the father of the infant, who had lodged the complaint, withdrew the same.

Father withdraws plaint
“The father of the girl has given an affidavit to the police withdrawing his complaint,” Bulandshahar superintendent of police, rural, Pankaj Pandey told Deccan Herald over phone from Bulandshahar. 

The official lamented that the media did not verify the allegation before airing the same as a result of which the image of the country was tarnished even in the foreign countries.
Earlier, a medical examination of the girl which was conducted a day after the alleged incident, had failed to confirm rape.

The father of the girl had alleged that a 24-year-old youth, who also hailed from the same village, had raped his 28-day-old daughter when the latter had gone to cast his vote in the panchayat elections on December 5.

He had told the police that on his return he had found his daughter in a pool of blood. He had also alleged that the ‘accused’ was spotted near his house at that time.
The district administration had grown suspicious and ordered a thorough probe into the matter after the first medical examination failed to confirm rape.

The locals had also expressed doubt over the allegation.
Police sources said that the allegation appeared to be the result of an election-related rivalry between the father of the alleged ‘victim’ and the ‘accused’.

It was also revealed that the father of the girl was a drunkard and had earlier also accused a resident of the village of raping his wife.

The matter was however allegedly resolved after the father of the girl had been given some money following a panchayat in the village.

Police said that they were contemplating to prosecute the father of the little girl for trying to implicate an innocent person and mislead the police.