A search is on for the accused, the police said (Representational)

A nine-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an unidentified person near Maharashtra's Palghar, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place at Virar in the intervening night of July 30-31, they said.

The girl was sleeping in her house when the unidentified person came there. He took the minor to an adjoining room in the house, where he gagged and raped her before fleeing, the police said.

An offence has been registered under relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Virar police station on a complaint by the victim's mother.

A search is on for the accused, the police added.