Patna: A senior politician has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a six-year-old schoolgirl in Bihar, the second such incident in the state past few weeks.
The arrested leader, Mahendra Sao, happens to be the Sheikhpura district president of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), the recently-formed political party headed by Dalit politician and Bihar’s former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi.
HAM is an ally of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Police said the girl, a resident of Satbigahi locality in the Sheikhpura district, had left for coaching on Saturday morning when the politician allegedly lured and locked her up inside his house.
According to the victim’s family members, she was sexually assaulted the whole night.
The entire story came to light when the victim somehow managed to escape from his clutches and narrated her harrowing tale to the family members.
The news of her sexual harassment soon spread like wildfire in the area.
Angry villagers found the politician, dragged him to the street and then gave him a severe thrashing before handing him over to the police.
“We have arrested the accused and the entire matter is being investigated,” the local district superintendent of police Rajendra Kumar Bheel told the media on Monday.
This is the second major arrest of politician in Bihar in the past few weeks. Earlier in February this year, police had arrested a ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) lawmaker, Raj Ballabh Yadav, for allegedly raping a teenaged girl.
The accused lawmaker is currently in jail as the state government has ordered speedy trial of his case. He has also been suspended from the party for his misconduct.
