A 13-year-old girl has been allegedly raped by nine men on separate occasions after being abducted twice in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria city earlier this month, a police official said on Sunday.
The girl's mother lodged a police complaint on January 14 following which seven of the accused were arrested on Friday. Search is underway for two other culprits, said the official, who is conducting an investigation into the case.
The girl was lured and abducted from a market place here by a person known to her on January 4. She was taken to a secluded spot where the person and six others allegedly raped her and later released on January 5, the police official said.
As the accused threatened the girl with dire consequences, she was scared and did not make any complaint, she said.
The victim was again abducted by one of these accused on January 11.
She was taken to a desolate place where five people, including three accused in the previous incident and two unidentified truck drivers, allegedly raped her on that day and January 12, the official said.
In the meantime, the girl's family members lodged a missing person's complaint with police on January 11.
The girl later managed to come home following which her mother lodged a police complaint on January 14 and the victim's statement was recorded, she said.
The police are conducting an investigation into the case and search for the other accused is underway, she said.
The Kotwali police have registered a case under various Indian Penal Code Sections, including 376 (rape) and 366(A) (inducing or seducing minor girl), and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.
