APF personnel gang-rape 16-yr-old

BAIJAPUR, Banke, Dec 30 - A 16-year-old Tharu girl of this village was gang-raped at gunpoint by two personnel of the Kusum-based Armed Police Force (APF) about two weeks ago.

Regular menstruation cycle of the girl, whose identity has been kept secret, has been delayed by two weeks since the incident and her parents suspect that she might have become pregnant.

Even though two weeks have passed since the incident took place, the poor and illiterate Tharu family hesitated filing a complaint for fear of further intimidation by the policemen, who had threatened them with dire consequences if they disclosed the matter.

"She did not even tell us about the matter for some days fearing social stigma," said the father of seven children, "How can I complain to the police about the crime committed by the police themselves?"

The girl was gang-raped by two policemen on the evening of December 15, when she left her home for attending the wedding party of her friend-cum-relative Geeta Kumari Oli. "She has been weeping ever since the incident," lamented her mother. Locals said the policemen, who were strolling around the bride’s house, forced the girl at gunpoint to move with them towards the banks of the Rapti River for "interrogation" on whether she had any links with the Maoists.APF Superintendent at Kusum Khoj Bahadur Gurung admitted that the policemen were "guilty" and they had already been sacked. But an APF source revealed that the "process of departmental action" against the culprits was on. Gurung refused to comment when asked of providing compensation to the victims. "They are free to go to court if they are not satisfied," Gurung added.