A senior scientist in India’s Agra has been arrested for sexually abusing two minor girls.
Dr Vishnu Dutt Sharma, head of the department of microbiology at National Jalma Institute For Leprosy, reportedly raped a a five-year-old and a six-year-old girl for two months at his home. According to reports, the scientist lured the girls to his residence promising them chocolates.
The incident came to light after the mother of one of the girls saw her coming out of the scientist’s home.
This incident comes just days after the Narendra Modi government passed an order to make rape of children under 12 punishable by the death penalty. The minimum jail term for rapists whose victims are more than 16 years have been set at 10 years and people convicted of rape of a girl below 16 years will be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in jail, it has been decided.
In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of rape incidents reported in Indian.
The nation saw widespread outrage following the rape and murder of Asifa, an eight-year-old in Indian-administered Kashmir in January. The girl was raped and murdered by a group that included policemen and a former government official.
During Narendra Modi’s visit to the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of State meeting last month, the prime minister spoke about the gruesome rape and said it was a matter of shame to the country.
“Every time in our country… it is always the woman who is questioned. The person who is committing these crimes is also someone’s son… The rape of a (daughter) is a matter of worry, a shame for the country,” PM Modi said during an interaction with the Indian community at London’s iconic Central Hall Westminster.
As soon as he landed in London, the prime minister was met by hundreds of protesters holding placards and photos of the eight-year-old girl from the nomadic Muslim community in Kathua.
