Madhya Pradesh Police arrested a man on Monday for allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl in Vidisha district. The incident took place in Tajpur village in the district on Saturday and a case was registered on Sunday, according to The Times of India.
District Superintendent of Police Vineet Kapoor told PTI that Gajraj Singh Bhil, who is a relative of the girl, took her to his house nearby under the pretext of playing with her on Saturday. After some time, Bhil’s son brought the child, who was crying, back to her parents, saying that she had injured herself on a barbed wire, the police said.
The child’s parents later noticed that she was bleeding from her genitalia and took her to the Sironj government hospital where the medical examiner said that she had been sexually assaulted. The child was admitted to the hospital and a case was registered on Sunday. The child’s parents were hesitant to file a First Information Report since Bhil was a relative, Kapoor told The Times of India.
“There was no delay on part of the police in taking action against the accused,” Kapoor said. “The girl is in a stable condition and the culprit has been sent to jail.”
Bhil was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 376 (punishment for rape), and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Earlier this month, a court in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district sentenced a 40-year-old man to death for raping a minor in May. In June, two men were arrested for raping an eight-year-old girl in the state’s Mandsaur district. Following the incident, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said rapists were a “burden on the earth” and do not deserve to live.
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