A three-year old girl is in critical condition in a New Delhi hospital where she was admitted over the weekend after allegedly being raped by her 40-year old neighbour.

Officials on Monday said the girl’s condition was ‘serious’ following surgery and doctors were unsure whether the infant would survive.

“A three-year old girl has been brutally raped in Bindapur in Delhi. She is bleeding profusely and is very critical,” tweeted the Delhi Commissioner for Women Swati Maliwal.

Police have arrested the suspect, who is a security guard living in the same building as the victim.

They said he tried to flee after reportedly raping the child, but was apprehended by her father and beaten up by other neighbours in their tenement after he raised the alarm.

He was later arrested and admitted to the same hospital where the girl is undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the beating.

Police said they were alerted to the crime on Sunday afternoon after the girl's parents called their emergency number and said their daughter had not returned home after going out to play with her friends hours earlier.