NEW DELHI — A 14-year-old girl was dragged into a forest and raped on the orders of a village council in remote eastern India in retaliation for a sex assault blamed on her brother, her family and police said Friday.

Jitendra Singh, a top local police official, said two men have been arrested in the rape case. They include the village headman and the main suspect, identified as the husband of the woman who was allegedly molested by the victim’s brother.

The victim’s brother has also been arrested on charges of molestation.

The girl’s mother told CNN-IBN news channel that she pleaded with the council and other villagers when they ordered the rape but no one listened.

“We kept begging them. We begged with folded hands but they would not listen. They dragged her away to the forest,” she said.

The attack took place after midnight on Sunday in a small village in Jharkhand state’s Bokaro district.

“They attacked her in retaliation and we are taking this case very seriously,” Singh said, adding that police expect to complete the investigation and file charges in the next few days.

Across much of rural India, deeply conservative local councils wield great power.


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