Two held for raping children of tribal labourers in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Police have arrested two men for allegedly raping two minor girls, both children of migrant labourers belonging to the Gond community who had come from Chhattisgarh to Maharashtra’s Beed to work in the sugarcane fields, on December 24, 2025.

Although the Beed police registered an FIR on December 29, the families are being pressured to withdraw the complaints, said activist Jeewan Rathore who is helping the families.

The accused, Ganesh Rajebhau Ghatul and Ashok Bhaskar Pawar, were arrested on December 30 and have been sent to judicial custody. The statement of the two girls will be recorded in the Majalgaon court on Saturday (January 3, 2026).

Mr. Rathore said that the two girls did not speak about the incident for four days as the two accused had threatened them with dire consequences. The incident came to light when one of them needed medical attention after complaining of pain. Currently, the girls are in the custody of the Child Welfare Committee in Beed.

The police have evoked various sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, POCSO, and Scheduled Caste Atrocities Prohibition Act in the complaint.

According to the FIR accessed by The Hindu, 14 people from the tribal community had come from Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon to Roshanpuri in Beed’s Majalgaon two months ago to work in the plantations. The two girls, aged 13 and 14, were part of the same group and accompanied their father and uncle respectively.

“They used to cook for the father and the uncle. They did not work in the fields. On December 24, the two accused youths – one a local shopkeeper, and the other a tractor driver who ferries labourers – came to their huts and dragged them to the fields. After raping them, they threatened the girls with dire consequences if they opened their mouths,” said Ashok Tangade, president of the Child Welfare Committee, Beed.

Mr. Rathore, member of a union fighting for the rights of sugarcane workers and transporters, said that he has been threatened for helping the family.

“The family is under pressure. They are poor landless labourers belonging to the Gond community. They are being forced to withdraw the complaint. I was threatened by people from the dominant caste and told not to interfere in this matter, that the labourers are from outside the State, that they have no power, and that I will have to be here among these people (accused),” he told The Hindu. He said the labourers lack access to clean water, healthcare and shelter, adding that more than 5,000 landless labourers from Chhattisgarh move to Beed every year to harvest sugarcane.

When asked about the incident, Beed Superintendent of Police Navneet said, “The children are in Bal Graha. The accused are in magisterial custody. We will make sure that they are fear-free. They have not given any complaint so far about any threat. We will do everything legally and ensure that justice is served.”