India: Man arrested for rape of 5-year-old

Girl in critical condition after brutal rape; Delhi residents protest lack of safety for women

Reuters|Published: 04.20.13 , 10:04

Indian police arrested a man on allegations of rape and torture of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi, a spokesman said on Saturday, after the incident triggered protests and revived memories of a brutal December assault on a woman that shook the country.

The man, 22, was arrested from eastern Bihar state, and is being brought to the capital, Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said. The accused was a neighbor of the girl and did odd jobs, he said.

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The assault on the girl, which left her in a critical condition, revived memories of the gang rape by five adult men and a teenaged boy of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student on a bus on December 16 in New Delhi.

That woman died of her injuries in a Singapore hospital where she was brought as anger poured in the streets of Delhi and elsewhere over the lack of safety for women.

Television images on Saturday showed people again gathered in front of the Delhi police headquarters and the specialty hospital where the latest victim was battling for life, chanting slogans and demanding better law enforcement in a city of 16 million people.

The girl, whose parents work as laborers and live in a slum in the outskirts of Delhi, went missing from home on April 15, according to Manish Sisodia, an official of the Aam Aadmi Party which organised Friday's protest.

She was found with bruise marks on her body in the suspect's house in a semi-conscious condition on Thursday by police after her parents had registered a complaint, media reports said.

The suspect allegedly held the girl hostage for three days during which he raped and tortured her.