BELAGAVI, 6 AUG 

Belagavi police detained a person for allegedly raping a 5-year-old girl in a prayer house in Yaragatti town in the district on Wednesday.

The incident gained traction after a Tuesday post from Hindu Right-wing activist Puneeth Kerehalli. In his post, tagging the State Home Department, he said that the girl was raped on 5 October, 2023, but authorities had prevented the minor’s parents from filing a police case. Belagavi Superintendent of Police Bhimashankar Guled, on Wednesday, told the press that the accused is also from the same girl's community. 

However, when police traced the parents of the victim, they said that they didn't file the complaint because they were worried about the future of their daughter, SP Guled said, adding that

"After tracing the identity of the victim's parents police took her father to the prayer house when the heads of the house were also present," Guled said.

Guled added that after the case was brought to the notice of the District Children Protection Committee, a complaint was registered by a Children Development Protection Officer (CDPO).