17-year-old rape victim critical after sleeping pill overdose in Bhopal

The girl has been admitted to Government Hamidia Hospital here and her condition is very critical, said Bhopal Police range Inspector General (IG) Upendra Jain.

Bhopal: A 17-year-old victim of rape, a case in which the accused is an elderly newspaper owner, allegedly took an overdose of sleeping pills at a shelter home here and has been admitted to hospital where her condition is very critical, said a senior police official on Wednesday.

The girl has been admitted to Government Hamidia Hospital here and her condition is very critical, said Bhopal Police range Inspector General (IG) Upendra Jain.

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In July last year, a case was registered against the accused, Pyare Miya (68), who runs a local newspaper, for allegedly raping five minor girls on different occasions.

The girl who took sleeping pills was one of the victims, the IPS officer said.

Jain said all the five victims have been kept in a government-run shelter home here to ensure their safety.

Of these, two girls fell ill and were admitted to the hospital on Monday night, he said.

One of them was found to have consumed an excessive dose of sleeping pills, he said.

The IG said the Bhopal district collector has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter and a report is awaited.

Meanwhile, Kamla Nagar Police Station in-charge Vijay Sisodia said the rape victim who overdosed on sleeping pills is on ventilator support.

The inquiry is underway to find out how she got sleeping pills in the shelter home, he said.

Besides Miya, who was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir, his accomplice Sweety Vishwakarma (21) has been booked for abetting the crime, police had said.

In July, the police had claimed to have seized porn CDs, high-end cars, liquor bottles and bones of wild animals, among other things, during raids on premises linked to Miya.

Miya is facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).

The police have also invoked the Excise Act and the Wildlife Act following seizure of liquor, an antler and bones of wild animals from his flats, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as two of the victims belong to these communities.

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