Schoolgirl raped after being abducted, accused held

An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man, who abducted her from outside her school here, police said today.

The incident took place on Tuesday evening and the accused, identified as Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20), was arrested late last night, a police official said.

The girl was found in an unconscious state yesterday and was admitted to a hospital, where she is stable, police said.

"On June 26 evening, when the minor was waiting for her family members outside her school in order to go home, Irfan abducted her. He took her to the bus stand area and allegedly raped her in the bushes near Laxman Darwaja," Mandsaur SP Manoj Kumar Singh told reporters.

When her family members failed to find her outside and inside the school, they approached the police late that evening.

After an intense search, she was found lying unconscious in the bushes near Laxman Darwaja, the officer said.

"She was rushed to Mandsaur district hospital, where she was given initial treatment. She was then taken to Indore and her medical examination confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted," the SP said.

The accused even made an unsuccessful attempt to kill her by trying to slit her throat using a knife, Singh added.

According to police, the accused, who worked as a labourer, has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act.

He also had a couple of criminal cases registered against him in the past.

Condemning the incident, local residents demanded capital punishment for the accused and as a mark of protest, the market area in the city remained shut today.