It has been 70 years since we got Independence from the British. From 1947, India developed in many ways such as technology, resources, farming, etc. But there is one thing never changed throughout this period, it is raping women, ragging, and much more regarding women.

As everyone is celebrating 70 years of Independence, a 12-year-old girl who is returning home after celebrating Independence Day at school was kidnapped and raped by an armed man in Chandigarh on Tuesday.

The Class 8 student was reportedly walking back home after flying the national flag at school when a man stopped her, pulled her into the children’s traffic park in Chandigarh’s Sector 23 and raped her, the police said.

The incident happened at the children’s traffic park, located in the heart of the city, on Tuesday morning. The victim, a student of Class 8 of a government school, was taken to a government hospital in Sector 16 for a medical examination, the officer said, adding a case has been registered.

The Chandigarh Police have registered a case of rape after a complaint from a girl that she was sexually assaulted by a man. “The accused, aged around 40 years, forcibly took the 12-year-old girl to the park, sexually assaulted her and fled,” investigating officer in the case, sub-inspector Kuldeep told.

The gruesome crime comes just days after women in the city directly administered by the Union Home Ministry held a candle-light march to assert their right to access public spaces without having to worry about their safety.

When contacted, Chandigarh senior superintendent of police (SSP) Eish Singhal said further probe in the case was under progress. According to initial reports, the rapist let the girl go after threatening her against speaking about it. The girl told her family about the crime when she reached home who called the police. Considered for long as one of north India’s safer cities for women and children, crimes against children have gone up in recent years.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau statistics, Chandigarh’s crime rate against children – crimes for every 1 lakh children were three times the national average. The kidnapping rate for children in the union territory is four times the national average of 9.4 child abductions for every 1 lakh children.

When contacted, Chandigarh senior superintendent of police (SSP) Eish Singhal said further probe in the case was under progress. Tuesday’s incident comes barely over a week after the 29- year-old daughter of a senior IAS officer was stalked by the son of Haryana BJP chief and his friend.