'Incidents Happen': Indian State Chief Under Fire For His Reaction to Murder of Pregnant Teenager

On Friday, the 14-year-old pregnant tribal girl was found hanging from a tree in the Dumka District of Jharkhand state. Police have alleged that girl was raped and then murdered. The accused has been arrested.

Jharkhand State Chief Hemant Soren has triggered anger after his reaction to a reporter's question regarding the rape and murder of an underage girl in Dumka District last week.

"Incidents happen [everywhere]. Where do they not occur?" Soren told reporters on Sunday in Hindi.

Hours after Soren's remark, the state's main opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentarian and Jharkhand state unit president Deepak Prakash, described the state chief statement as "shameful," adding, "The CM (Soren) does not know how to keep people safe."

Crimes against women in Jharkhand have been on the rise since Soren became the state chief, Prakash alleged without providing any data to back his claim. Chief of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Priyank Kanoongo said cases against minor girls are increasing at an "alarming rate" in Jharkhand," and his team on Monday would visit the state to access the progress in the investigation.

Despite the conteroversy, the State Chief won a confidence motion in the Special Session of the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

The incident came days after the death of another girl in Jharkhand, who died after her stalker set her on fire.