In the span of a day,3 children raped, 4 sexually assaulted in separate cases in Uttar Pradesh

While the country is reeling under constant outrage over rising sexual crimes against girls and women, there seems to be no respite in the near future. 

Three young girls were raped and four other minors were sexually assaulted in seven separate incidents in Uttar Pradesh in a single day. The series of horrific cases come amidst heightened national sensitivity over rapes and murder of minors that have led to widespread protests and criticism of the government over its failure to make the country safe for women.

According to reports, the three rapes were reported in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur, Amroha and Kannauj districts and a fourth one was reported on Tuesday in Muzaffarnagar.

In Rampur and Amroha districts, the suspects themselves were juveniles between ages 11 and 12. In Kannauj, a man raped his 11-year-old niece when her family was not at home.

BCCL

In Moradabad and Muzaffarnagar, three separate incidents of sexual assault on two girls and one boy were reported. These cases, except one, took place just after the centre cleared an ordinance amending the existing law, which protects minors from sexual offences, by allowing the death penalty for offenders who rape girls below 12 years of age.

Just yesterday, Union minister Santosh Gangwar courted controversy, saying while rapes were unfortunate, they cannot be stopped sometimes and one "should not make a big deal out of it".

"In such a huge country, if one or two such cases are reported, one should not make a big deal out of it," the minister said.

"Such incidents are really unfortunate, but sometimes it is difficult to control these cases... The government is active," added the Gangwar, the junior minister in the finance ministry.

In Rampur, the father of the 7-year-old who was raped alleged that a man seduced the girl and raped her in a forest area, according to news agency ANI. The police caught the accused juvenile later.