NEW DELHI: An eight-year-old girl used the skills she had been taught at school to get the man who was trying to rape her arrested.

The child was taken by her 27-year-old neighbour to a nearby jungle in east Delhi’s Mandawali where he started to force himself on her. Unable to fight back, the girl started shouting the names of neighbours who frequented the area. Her cries alerted one of them after which the accused youth was caught.

Residents of Mandawali railway colony called the police on Tuesday night and informed them about the crime. In her complaint, the girl said that the youth had lured her to the jungle beside the colony on the pretext of looking for his wife. He then disrobed her and tried to rape her.

The girl said that instead of shouting for help, she called out the names of her neighbours who usually passed by the jungle at that time. Fortunately, her father’s friend heard her calls. When he reached the spot, he found the youth in a compromising position with the girl.

The youth was caught and thrashed by the girl’s parents and then handed over to the cops.

“The accused admitted to having molested the child. He has been booked and sent to jail,” said a senior police officer.

The accused youth stayed in the same locality and had earlier worked with the girl’s father. His wife and he used to visit the girl’s family often due to which she had agreed to accompany him into the jungle.

A case under POCSO and IPC Section 354 (molestation) has been registered against the youth. The child is being counselled with the help of an NGO.

