An underage girl was sexually assaulted by a group of young men at her house in a village in Channapatna taluk, Ramanagaram district, around 11 pm on January 16, 2017, police said.

The men barged into the house of the class 9 student when her grandparents were away and took turns to sexually assault her.

The Ramanagaram rural police said they had registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and were investigating exactly how many perpetrators were involved. The girl has been admitted to a hospital in Channapatna where she is being treated and counselled. As if the traumatic experience wasn’t enough, the girl’s family now faces social stigma from villagers who do not want it to return to the village. The family has sought police protection. To make matters worse, a group of boys kept stalking the victim after the incident. In school, her classmates spoke ill of her. One of the teachers even shouted at her. She hasn’t attended school since.

District child protection officer, Tajuddin Khan, said they were counselling the teen. “We’ll counsel her again on Monday. We are trying to make her feel normal again. We also want her to continue her studies,” he said.

He continued, “If the girl does not want to go home, she can stay at the state-run hostel for girls and continue her studies. If she wants to be accommodated in Mandya or Mysuru, arrangements can be made for that.”