Rape of 5-year-old: Accused arrested in Muzaffarpur, victim critical at AIIMS

Muzaffarpur (Bihar): A 25-year-old youth allegedly involved in the rape of the five-year-old girl in the national capital was arrested  early on Saturday morning, police said.

Manoj Kumar was apprehended from Chiknouta, his in-law’s village, about 50 Kms from Patna at around 2  am. He  was arrested by a team from Delhi with the help of local police.

The accused, who reached Muzaffarpur by train from Delhi, was traced after tracking his mobile phone location, police sources said.

Kumar had been married recently and his wife had come to her parent’s place two days earlier.

Kumar, who works as a labourer in Delhi, is a native of Bharphua village from the same district.

Kumar allegedly raped a five-year-old girl at his rented accommodation in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar. The girl and her family stayed in the same building as Kumar.

Delhi Police has registered a case and slapped charges of attempt to murder and rape among other things on Kumar, who allegedly confined the girl in his room for at least two days.

The girl, who was reported missing from the evening of 15 April, was rescued on the morning of 17 April from the ground floor of the building.

The girl is battling for her life in AIIMS hospital in the national capital after she contracted infection from foreign objects inserted into her body. Doctors said that the next 48 hours will be crucial for the toddler’s health. Her genitals were mutilated and reportedly several foreign objects were found in her abdominal cavity.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was “deeply disturbed” to hear about the gruesome details of the case, and directed Delhi Lt Governor Tajender Khanna to take strictest possible action against the erring officials. Doctors confirmed on Friday evening that the child, who was kidnapped from her home in Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi four days ago, was subjected to horrific injuries to her private parts that resulted in mutilation and infection.

Even as Ministry of Home Affairs took serious note of the incident, questions remained on whether the newly enforced anti-rape laws have done nothing to scare sexual predators and to tackle crime against women.

Agencies