She seems to have been lured away easily before being subjected to sexual assault at knife-point

A three-year-old girl child is on life support at a city hospital after allegedly being subjected to sexual assault in South Delhi on Saturday. The perpetrator of the crime remains at large in spite of police proceedings over 24 hours.

After being discovered wailing for help in tattered clothes at a vacant plot not far from her residence in a village near Sarojini Nagar around 9:30 pm last evening, the child was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Safdurjung Hospital for treatment after her medical examination confirmed rape.

“She seems to have been lured away by the perpetrator while playing outside her house; her neighbour discovered her sometime later and informed her parents, following which they rushed her to hospital,” said a police officer.

According to the police, hospital authorities informed the local police about the incident even as the child underwent a minor operation post admission.

Her father runs a small eatery in the area and her mother, a housewife, was at home when the incident came to light. In her statement to the police, the girl’s mother said that her daughter had mentioned a knife which her rapist was wielding.

“It appears that the assailant was known to both the family and the girl; she seems to have been lured away easily before being subjected to sexual assault at knife-point,” the officer said.

A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered at the Sarojini Nagar police station even as the girl continues to be on ventilator. He condition is critical.

On Sunday morning, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) President Barkha Singh visited the girl and her family at the hospital. She termed the incident ‘shameful’.