india

Updated: Mar 31, 2019 08:56 IST

While the horror inflicted on her on a Holi night may haunt her for life, it took around a year for the four-year-old rape survivor to walk out of the King George Medical University in Lucknow, here on Saturday.

Battling for life ever since she was raped when she was just three years old by her uncle, who had come to her house to celebrate the festival last year, the little girl had to undergo multiple surgeries, including a few complicated ones, before Saturday when she was told that she could now lead a normal life.

“The brutal rape had severely damaged her passages of rectum and vagina. It needed multiple surgeries to bring them back to normal,” said Prof SN Kureel, head of department, paedictric surgery, KGMU, who operated the girl.

While she was first admitted for 10 days, she had to be in hospital almost for the entire year, undergoing different surgeries.

“The first stage surgery was done to divert the stool passage in March last year. The second surgery to repair the rectum and vagina was done in November. The third surgery was done on March 18 this year to give her back the original stool passage. The organs are now normal,” said Prof Kureel. “She can now live a normal life and will not require any further surgery,” said Prof Kureel, for whom issuing a discharge slip for her was an emotional moment.

“One can only imagine what all she has faced at such a tender age,” said the doctor.

For her father, a daily wager in Lucknow Nagar Nigam, coping up was equally challenging experience.

“Every moment was tough. But now that my daughter can play and live like other girls of her age, I am happy,” he said while profusely thanking the team of doctors — Dr Archika, Dr Gaurav, Dr Vipul, Dr Sunil —who gave his daughter a new life.

The girl went missing while she was playing outside her rented house in Thakurganj locality.She was found later from an abandoned under-construction house nearby.

“A group of locals nabbed the girl’s uncle coming out of the abandoned building. He was beaten up badly before being handed over to us,” the police said.

The accused was later booked under charges of rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act is still in jail, said police.