Some of the most astonishingly evil stories of child sexual abuse come out of India.
In India as Jan Huygen van Linschoten wrote in the 16th century in The Voyage of J H van Linschoten to the East Indies: Linschoten describes the Indians as “the most leacherous and unchaste nation in all the orient, so that there are verie few women children (girls) among them of seven or eight yeares old, that have their maiden-heades.” (i.e. virginity).
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Dalit woman in India alleges rape by 64 men
over five years
An 18-year-old Dalit woman from the southern India state of Kerala has accused 64 men of sexually abusing her since she was 13 years old.
Police have arrested 28 people in connection with the case so far - the men are in custody and have not made any public statement.
The accused, who range between 17 and 47 years of age, include the woman's neighbours, sports coaches and her father's friends, police told the BBC.
The woman reported the alleged abuse after a team of counsellors working under a government scheme visited her house.
Police have registered about 18 cases under India's various crime laws as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act - which is a law to prevent crimes against people belonging to lower castes and tribes in India.
Dalits lie at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy and face widespread discrimination in India despite laws to protect them.
Cases have also been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, since the abuse took place when the woman was a minor, senior police official Nandakumar S told BBC Hindi.
More cases are expected to be registered in the coming days as the police are still investigating the matter. A 25-member team has been set up.
Police say that the alleged abuse began when the girl was 13 years old. Her neighbour allegedly molested her and took sexually explicit photographs of her, the News Minute website reported.
Her neighbour allegedly sexually abused her again when she was 16 years old, recorded videos of the abuse and shared it with several others who continued to assault the woman over many years.
A lawyer who heads the district's Child Welfare Committee (CWC) told the Indian Express newspaper that the woman was an athlete and attended various sports camps, which could have facilitated further abuse.
Police say that the woman was allegedly gangraped three times in the past five years.
Her alleged abusers reportedly used her father's phone number to contact her and the woman stored their contacts in the phone. The police are now using the phone to trace the accused.
The woman's family was reportedly unaware of the alleged abuse.
The matter came to light when a team of counsellors visited the woman's home last month. The counsellors alerted the CWC about the matter and the woman was asked to appear before the committee along with her mother.
"She was given counselling, and she opened up before a psychologist, narrating the sexual abuse she has been facing since the age of 13," the CWC chief told the Indian Express.
He added that the woman had been shifted to a shelter associated with the CWC for her protection.
The woman's allegations have sent shockwaves across the country. She is expected to give a detailed statement about the alleged abuse to a woman police officer.
Additional reporting by Imran Qureshi, BBC Hindi
Badlapur sexual assault victims very young, trial must be fast-tracked: HC
In August last year, a male attendant sexually assaulted the two girls - aged four and five - inside the toilet of their school located in Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane district
The Bombay High Court on Monday said the trial in the last year's Badlapur school sexual assault case should be fast-tracked and conducted expeditiously as the victim girls are very young.
In August last year, a male attendant sexually assaulted the two girls - aged four and five - inside the toilet of their school located in Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane district.
He was arrested and later killed in a shootout with police when he was being taken from jail for questioning.
The Special Investigation (SIT), set up by the Maharashtra government to conduct a probe into the case, has filed its chargesheet.
The chargesheet was filed against the attendant, the school's headmaster and two members of its management for "failing to report" the sexual assault, as required under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The high court took suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the incident after it came to light that the local Badlapur police had not taken prompt action to lodge an FIR in the case.
On Monday, public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar informed the bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale that the probe into the case was over, chargesheet filed and now trial would be held.
The court then emphasised the need to keep the trial fast-tracked.
"The case will have to be fast-tracked and conducted expeditiously as the victim girls are of a very young age," the court said.
As mandated under the POCSO Act, a woman prosecutor would have to be present while examining the girls, it added.
Venegaonkar said a lady prosecutor has been appointed to assist the special public prosecutor in the case.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing on January 20, by when the prosecution will have to inform the stage of the trial.
Last year, the bench also ordered for a committee of experts to be set up to examine the safety of children in schools and other educational institutions.
Venegaonkar on Monday said the committee was yet to submit its report of recommendations.
The HC said that if by the next date of hearing the report is submitted, the same shall be produced before it too.
Venegaonkar also told the court that as per the Maharashtra government's policy, the education of the girls would be free of cost till Class 8.
"A proposal has been made to make their (victim girls) education free for classes 9 and 10 too," he said.
On January 20, the HC would also hear the petition filed by father of the deceased attendant, alleging his son was killed in a fake encounter by police.
In 12 years of documenting these horror stories from India, I have never heard of police doing anything like that in defence of girls unless there was something the police wanted to hide.
