Delhi rape: Hunt launched for 2nd man, protests across capital

As the national capital braces for more protests against rising rape cases, reports on Sunday claimed that the five-year-old girl ‘Gudiya’ was gang-raped by two people.

Zee Media Bureau New Delhi: Investigators on Sunday launched a hunt for a second person in the rape of a five-year-old girl after the accused spoke about the role of another man in the incident over which protests here demanding the removal of Police Commissioner erupted for a third day. Delhi rape: Events as they unfolded - Sunday » It is being said that the accused – Manoj Kumar, who was arrested yesterday from Bihar, told police that one of his accomplice Pradip Kumar was also involved in the horrendous incident. On a day of flip-flop by Delhi Police on the issue of the role of second person, the arrested accused Manoj Kumar was produced before a court and agreed for a test identification parade. The duty magistrate sent him to judicial custody till May four. Earlier in the day, police announced that they will produce Kumar, who was arrested from his in-laws` house in Bihar`s Muzaffarpur yesterday, in court tomorrow before the expiry of transit remand granted by a Bihar court. Police had in a statement earlier in the day denied "rumours" of arresting a second accused or "looking" for him. Sources said Kumar had taken the name of the second person`s presence at the time of the incident with Delhi Police as well as Bihar Police during questioning. In the evening, a senior police official said they were probing whether the second suspect is involved in the rape or whether he helped Kumar in fleeing the capital on April 15 soon after the rape. Earlier, a joint team of Delhi and Bihar Police succeeded in nabbing the rape accused, Manoj Kumar, 22, from his in-laws house in Chitkouna village in Bihar`s Muzaffarpur district on Saturday. He was flown to Delhi in a chartered plane and is being interrogated by police. The girl, a resident of east Delhi`s Gandhi Nagar, was abducted by Manoj, a labourer, who lived on the ground floor of the same house in the working class neighbourhood. He kept her hostage for two days without food and water and subjected her to brutal repeated rape. She was rescued when her family members heard her screams Wednesday, police said. The accused had locked the door from outside and fled, thinking that she had died. The rape victim continues to fight for her life at AIIMS. `No danger to victim’s life` An AIIMS doctor on Sunday morning bulletin said that the girl is improving well and responding to antibiotics. The doctor said that the rape victim is showing major recovery and vital parameters are normal. "The child is showing gradual recovery. She slept well during the night. She is responding well to anti-biotics." The bulletin further stated that the five-year-old is conscious and talking to parents, doctors and nurses. “There is no danger to life,” the doctor asserted. He said the girl, raped by her 22-year-old neighbour, had undergone "colostomy" surgery. This is a procedure to create an alternative route for stool to pass. Asked if the girl understood what she had undergone, the doctor said: "She was perhaps too young to understand what happened. "I will not say she is scared, perhaps she is too young to understand the gravity of her condition," he said. Earlier, Medical Superintendent DK Sharma had said they carried out a procedure to divert her stools as her private parts had suffered grievous injuries and were badly damaged. Protests continue Delhi was today again rocked by angry street protests on Saturday against the barbaric rape of a five-year-old girl who doctors said has suffered serious injuries to her private parts. Protest intensified across India on Sunday over the rape of five-year old girl. People continue to stage demonstrations outside the Delhi Police headquarters, demanding the removal of Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. Dozens of BJP women activists Sunday marched to Congress president Sonia Gandhi`s house and broke barricades on the way to denounce the brutal rape of a five-year-old as protests raged for a second day in the capital. Shouting "Enough is enough!" and "Save the girl!", the women members of the Bharatiya Janata Party attempted to reach 10 Janpath in the heart of the city. The protesters are seeking the sacking of two policemen who delayed registering a complaint even after the victim`s parents complained of the girl`s disappearance. At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, where the victim is warded, crowds were on the main road outside raising slogans demanding death to the rapist.

Police have barricaded the main entrance to the hospital to enable easy entry and exit for patients and ambulances.