8-year-old girl sleeping outside hut abducted, raped in Delhi

New Delhi: An eight-year-old girl, who was sleeping outside her hut, was allegedly abducted and raped by a youth in outer Delhi's Kirari area, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday when the accused, who is suspected to be a minor, allegedly gagged the girl, took her to a secluded spot near her house, and raped her.

The girl was sleeping on a cot outside her house at an unauthorised colony in Kirari area when the accused spotted her.

After the sexual assault, the accused fled the spot leaving behind the girl, who returned home on her own early morning and went off to sleep on the same cot.

It was her mother who raised an alarm after she saw blood stains on the bed sheet and rushed the girl to a hospital. The hospital authorities, in turn, called up police. After doctors confirmed sexual assault, the girl was sent for counselling.

During counselling, the girl broke down and narrated her ordeal. A case under IPC sections 363 (abduction) and 376 (rape) and relevant sections of POCSO Act has been registered at Aman Vihar police station, a senior police officer said.

CCTV footage from the locality were scanned and, in one clip, the suspected accused could be seen with the girl. He was identified and a hunt launched to nab him.

"He was arrested today and his age is being verified," DCP (Outer) Vikramjit Singh said.

The accused is a stranger to the family and lives in another lane in the same locality, police said.