Know what is digital rape that Noida woman has claimed her 4-year-old daughter suffered at school

A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by unknown person inside her school premises here, prompting police to launch an investigation, officials said on Thursday.

The FIR was lodged after the student's mother filed a complaint at Sector 39 police station alleging “digital rape” (forced sex using any part of the body other than male genital) with her daughter, a senior officer said.

According to the complaint filed on September 9, the alleged incident took place on September 7 about which the mother got to know when she picked her daughter up after the school and the child complained of itching in the body, the officials said.

“The FIR was lodged on the basis of the complaint. The girl's medical examination was conducted which showed no external injury to her,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Ashutosh Dwivedi said.

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The complainant has refused to allow the internal examination of the child, Dwivedi said.

“CCTV footage has also been procured which shows that the child was not accompanied by any person while she was in the school's corridors. The footage has been shown to the mother also,” he said. The additional DCP said the investigation so far has not found any evidence of rape in the episode but further probe is underway and action will be taken accordingly.

The FIR under Indian Penal Code section 376 (rape) and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been lodged, the officials said.

The classification of a sexual offence as “digital rape” took place in the wake of the brutal Nirbhaya gang-rape case of 2012, which had shocked the nation and led to reforms in the country's criminal laws to increase the ambit of crimes perceived as “rape”.

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While its offenders are now booked under the much wider IPC section 376 (rape), the usage of the term 'digital rape' and conviction in such cases still remains relatively low in the country.

The last such notable case in Noida was lodged in May this year, when an 81-year-old artist-cum-teacher was held for 'digital rape' with a 17-year-old girl over a period of seven years.