The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Girl raped and murdered

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Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Girl raped and murdered

Staff Reporter

She was a Class 7 student in a government school

The police are questioning some persons living in the sheds
Around 200 labourers are housed in sheds at Sharadamba Nagar

BANGALORE: A 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered in a grove near the sheds where construction workers stay at Jalahalli on Saturday. A group of miscreants are stated to have followed her when she had gone out to answer nature’s call early in the morning.

Around 200 construction labourers working at a project of a well-known builder are housed in a row of sheds at Sharadamba Nagar.

“I have been staying here for the past one month,” the victim’s brother said.

The girl is studying in seventh standard in a nearby government school. “She went alone and did not wake up my wife, who generally accompanies her,” her brother said.

Found missing

As the common bathroom was dirty, the girl went towards the nearby grove. Her brother got concerned when she did not return till 8.30 a.m. “We started looking for her and one of us found the body in the grove. Somebody had followed her and killed her,” he said.

The police found injuries that indicated she had put up a fight.

“We suspect she has been raped and smothered to death,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Syed Ulfath Hussain. The police were questioning some persons living in the sheds.

Appalling conditions

The construction workers — mostly from Gulbarga and Bihar — live under appalling conditions. “We are moved from one area to another. We were moved here from Peenya a month ago. The construction company has taken this land on lease,” said Y. Hanumanthappa, a labourer.

Around 20 sheds have been built on vacant land, which is 500 metres away from the place of construction. Of these, three are used for wash and two as toilets. “There are so many people lined up in front of the toilets, and therefore we are forced to go to the open field in groups,” said Yellawwa, another resident.

Two open sumps have been constructed — one for storing drinking water and another for domestic use.

Children of many labourers staying in these sheds go to the government school nearby.

“My son is one among the four children who were going along with the girl to the government school,” said Ms. Yellawwa. “The girl was studious,” she said.

“I brought her here and would drop her at the school before going to work,” said the girl’s brother.

Rudresh, a labourer working at a nearby construction site, said that a large number of people from Gulbarga district come to work here. “I have come here along with my wife and two children from a village in Chittapur taluk. We are usually made to stay away from the place of construction,” he said.

He said the local residents had been opposing their stay near the construction sites.

“Incidents such as this will now make us move away from this area,” he added.

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Karnataka