New Delhi: A four-year-old girl was brutally raped by an unidentified accused in a slum dwelling in northwest Delhi's Keshav Puram area, police said on Sunday.
The girl was missing from her house since Thursday evening. She was later found abandoned and critically injured near a rail line by a passer-by, an officer said on Friday.
The victim, a resident of JJ cluster, was bleeding profusely and was immediately rushed to Mahavir Hospital, from where she was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. She is undergoing treatment, the officer said.
"She is admitted in the High Dependency Unit. She is conscious and out of danger but still in pain," medical superintendent of Safdarjung hospital, A K Rai, said.
"She was brought to our hospital at around 8 pm Thursday night. She had injury on her private parts and doctors operated on her the same night," he said.
The girl, whose father is a painter, was playing outside her house when she went missing. Her grandparents tried to search her, but she could not be found, police said.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Acts and a manhunt has been launched to arrest the accused, who is yet to be identified, he said.
There is an eatery in the slum where alcoholics and miscreants assembled late night. It is suspected that the accused could be one of the frequent visitors of those shops, he said.
"We have zeroed in on some suspects and we are keeping a watch. Once the girl recovers, we will be able to get more clues about the accused," the officer added.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal met the victim at the hospital.
"Visited the little girl, her condition can't be described. Horrific. Her parents are extremely poor. When will this heinous crime stop in Delhi (sic)," Ms Maliwal tweeted.
"Every day we have a Nirbhaya in Delhi and Nirbhaya Fund is lying unused. Pathetic.
"In 2014, only 9 accused were convicted in Delhi in crime against women. Can you imagine! Tabhi to Delhi mei kisi ko darr nai hai (That's why no one is scared in Delhi)," she tweeted.
