Rape accused slapped with NSA in UP's Bhadohi

Bhadohi (UP), Oct 12 (PTI) The Bhadohi district administration in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against a man placed under judicial custody for allegedly abducting and raping an eight-year-old tribal girl and dumping her by a riverside, police said.

District Magistrate Shailesh Kumar has approved the slapping of NSA on the accused to maintain public order, Bhadohi SP Abhimanyu Manglik said.

The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner “prejudicial to the defence of India”. The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier.

Because it is preventive detention and not arrest, there is no legal obligation to present the detainee before a court of law.

The SP said the incident took place in a tribal hamlet under the Suriyawan police station limits, where the victim was sleeping with her grandparents on the night of July 11 when the accused took her away.

Acting on the family's complaint, police launched a search and found the girl the next morning near Kusa river on Bhadohi-Jaunpur border, lying naked under a tree.

A case was registered under the relevant sections of BNS and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against an unidentified person.

During investigation, police intercepted a suspect near a bridge on the Kusa river on July 12, who opened fire at the cops after being cornered.

As police returned the fire, one bullet hit him on the leg before he was arrested, the SP said.

The 25-year-old accused from neighbouring Jaunpur district confessed to abducting and raping the minor girl during questioning, the officer said. PTI COR ABN ARI