BAREILLY: Police have begun questioning two people suspected of involvement in the rape of a seven-year-old girl in Richhola Kiffayatullha village of Nawabganj tehsil in Bareilly district on Monday night.

The girl was abducted while she was sleeping in the courtyard of her house. There were reports that the culprits stole the mobile phone of girl's mother before kidnapping the girl.

The family only realized that the phone was missing after the girl returned. Two handsets from neighbouring houses were also reported missing.

Nawabganj circle officer Digambar Kushwaha said, "We have picked two suspects for questioning, and the stolen phones are under surveillance. We have got vital leads, and have traced the accused."

The police officer said he could only divulge details once the interrogation was over.

An FIR has been registered against an unidentified person under IPC Section 376 (rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Tuesday.

The father of the girl, who was at work at a brick kiln in Naryawal at the time of the incident, told TOI, "My daughter was sleeping in the courtyard while her mother and elder brother were sleeping inside. We do not have a proper door. Someone barged into our home and abducted her."

The girl's father said the family learned of the crime after the minor girl returned home later that night, her clothes in disarray.

Meanwhile, the girl was discharged from Maharana Pratap Combined District Hospital as her condition was stable on Wednesday morning.

