Representation image for minor raped
A case under IPC Section 376 (rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) has been filed against the accused. (Representational Image)

A 12-year-old girl in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district was gang-raped in front of her family by six men. The men were fighting with the girl's family regarding the construction of a drain in the area.

The six men, who had a dispute with the victim's parents, went to her house on Friday evening. They forcibly dragged the girl outside and gang-raped her in front of her parents. When her parents tried to defend her, they were beaten up.

The girl's mother filed a complaint on Saturday evening and a case was registered on Sunday morning. The girl was admitted to a hospital and is currently in a stable condition, reports Times of India. 

Four accused - Chandan Prasad, Gautam Prasad, Veeru Yadav and Jaivir Prasad - have been arrested by the police. The two others – Nitish Kumar and Mukhtar Prasad - are on the run.

The six accused have been charged under sections 376 (rape), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 147 (rioting), 452 (trespassing after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to cause breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code. 

They were also booked under sections of the POCSO Act as well as the SC/ST Act.

This incident comes at a time when acts of violence against minors, especially girls, is occurring more often in the state. A two-year-old girl in Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh was tortured and murdered for eight hours by two men because of a loan dispute with the girl's family.