Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday took suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report and directed the state to give an assistance of Rs one lakh and facilitate better treatment to a minor rape victim whose father has to carry her physically to the nearest health centre for treatment.
Taking suo motu cognizance of an English daily report today that the nine-year-old victim`s father carries her to get treatment from the nearest health centre four km away in East Singhbhum district, the bench of Chief Justice Virendra Singh also directed the government to submit a detailed report of the case and what measures were being taken to stop such crimes.
The court served notices to the chief secretary, the home secretary, the health Secretary and the deputy commissioner of the East Singhbhum district of the state and posted the case for hearing on September one.
As per the report, a daily wage labourer in Jharkhand`s Hatiapata village covers four km on foot carrying his daughter physically to get her treated at the nearest health centre after she underwent an operation in Ranchi following the crime on her by a driver some time ago.
The father has been quoted in the story as saying that he does not even have a cycle to take his daughter to the health centre. Meanwhile, acting with alacrity following the report and HC directive, East Singhbhum district administration officials visited the victim's place in Dumaria block under Ghatsila sub -division and provided her father with a bicycle, Rs 10,000 in cash, a dhoti and a sari.
The officials also helped her father open a bank account, provided insurance cover for her parents under 'Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana' and allotted a plot of land, said Sub-Divisional Officer (Ghatsila), BP Singh.
Besides, the process was begun to provide job cards under MNREGA to the victim's parents, he said.
Singh told PTI that, on the directive of Deputy Commissioner Dr Amitabh Kaushal, the District Civil Surgeon has asked a medical officer to make adequate arrangements and ensure that the father of the girl did not have to carry her to the hospital for dressing any more.
Instead, the dressing will now be done at her home by the medical officer, he said.
The district welfare department made all the arrangements on the directive of Kaushal as the victim's family was living in a remote area and did not even have a bicycle, he said while assuring that they would do their best to ensure that the girl recovered soon.
