The accused has been arrested and booked (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: BCCL

Nagpur: A 25-year-old man has been arrested in Nagpur city of Maharashtra for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl, police said. A preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused raped her in Wadi city area on Sunday after showing her videos of an obscene nature. Identified as one Bhushan Dahat, the culprit is a distant relative of the minor girl.

An official familiar with the matter said that the survivor's mother earns her livelihood by working as domestic help and is very close to the accused's sister for the past few years. Since her school has declared holidays for the summer, the girl used to accompany her mother to work. She would spend time at the accused's house as her mother worked, said police.

However, the mother noticed the child's health deteriorating on Sunday. When questioned, the child narrated her ordeal. Inspector RL Pathak with the Wadi Police told news agency ANI that a case was registered in this regard under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) resulting in Dahat's arrest. More details in this regard are awaited as police are currently in the process of investigating the matter. No statement has been released yet regarding the minor girl's medical examination.

In March of this year, a similar instance had come to light from Shanti Nagar police station limits in Nagpur where a 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times by her neighbour over a period of six months. Police officials probing the matter told media persons at the time that the accused scared the minor girl and even threatened to kill her which is why she could not report the matter any earlier. The accused was later arrested and booked under section 376(a), (b), 506 and 509 of the IPC along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.