Several cases of sexual abuse of women and children have come to the fore in Maharashtra over the last few weeks. Amid the outrage over the Badlapur minors' sexual assault case, another allegation of a minor being assaulted at her school by a canteen worker was reported last week. Now, a 19-year-old nursing student has alleged that she was raped in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. This comes within a month of a Uttarakhand nurse's rape & murder on July 30 and amid the ongoing protests over the Kolkata doctor's rape & murder.
ALSO READ | Badlapur Sexual Abuse Case: 'School's CCTV Footage For 15 Days Missing,' Education Minister Reveals
The Ratnagiri nursing student was found unconscious near Champak Maidan. The girl is currently undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital. The girl, who studies at a private hospital in Ratnagiri, said that she booked an autorickshaw to go home. On the way, she was offered water by the autorickshaw driver. However, the water was laced with something that rendered her unconscious, she alleged. She said that after she fainted, the autorickshaw driver took the victim to a secluded place and raped her.
The medical test report is not out yet, but the police are investigating the case and tallying the girl's statement with their probe.
Various social welfare organisations have raised their voices and demanded justice for the girl. Officials of the organisations gathered at the Ratnagiri Civil Hospital on Tuesday for a demonstration. Nurses at the district hospital have called for a strike.
The police are yet to make an official statement on the matter, but ABP News learned through sources that the allegation is being investigated through CCTV footage from the area. The Ratnagiri police have registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 64 (1) (Punishment for rape).
ALSO READ | Amid Outrage Over Badlapur Sexual Assault, Another Molestation Case Emerges In Maharashtra
Badlapur Sexual Abuse Case Update
The Badlapur case involves the alleged sexual abuse of two four-year-old girls at their school by a sweeper who worked at the institution. The accused, Akshay Shinde, has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
The accused allegedly preyed on minors in the school's washroom on August 12 and 13. He was arrested on August 17.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has opened a full front against the Eknath Shinde government over the incident ahead of the elections, claiming that women's security has been compromised under the Mahayuti dispensation. The government, on the other hand, has alleged that the Opposition was trying to politicise the issue.
These come amid the Kolkata RG Kar doctor's rape-murder case, in which the state Opposition BJP and CPI(M) are trying to corner the Mamata Banerjee government. The BJP has claimed that the state has become unsafe under the TMC government, while the ruling Trinamool Congress has accused the BJP of trying to derail the CBI investigation in the case.
On Tuesday, Trinamool Congress attacked the BJP-led Mahayuti government over the alleged rape in Ratnagiri. "While
BJP leaves no stone unturned to defame Bengal, double-engine Maharashtra has become a living hell for women! Just days after two 4-year-olds were sexually assaulted in Thane, a 20-year-old nursing student has been brutally raped in Ratnagiri. Her battered body was found today, and the culprit is still at large," said in an X post
ALSO READ | Uttarakhand: Nurse's Brutal Rape & Murder Sparks Protests, Congress Demands Death Penalty For Killer