Minor headed for Chandigarh school for I-Day function raped

A minor girl was sexually assaulted by an unidentified man at knife-point when she was on way to her school for Independence Day function here on Tuesday, police said.

The victim, a 12-year-old Class VIII student, was sexually assaulted by the man, said to be aged around 40, at the Children's Traffic Park in Sector 23.

The girl was admitted at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital for treatment even as Chandigarh Police registered a rape case on her complaint. No arrest has been made so far.

Chandigarh's officiating Senior Superintendent of Police Eish Singhal told the media in the evening that police had procured closed-circuit television footage from the area to identify the suspect.

SSP Singhal and other police officers, who were attending the main Independence Day function at the Parade Ground in nearby Sector 17, rushed to the spot after the crime was reported to police.

Singhal further clarified that the minor was in fact going to school to attend the I-Day function and not returning from there as reported earlier. 

Police cited the girl as saying that the man dragged her near a 'nallah' (seasonal rivulet) passing through the traffic park and raped her at knife-point.

The crime occurred even as Chandigarh Police was put on high alert for the Independence Day celebrations.

Several government officers, some provided official security, live in residential area near the park's main gate.

The crime occurred just days after an attempted abduction and stalking case involving Vikas Barala, a son of Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party President Subhash Barala, and his friend Ashish Kumar. - IANS