A 10-year-old girl was kidnapped near her house and raped by a 36-year-old man in Gujarat’s Bharuch, the police said.

The accused, a native of Jharkhand, was arrested. The incident took place in the Jhagadia industrial area of Bharuch on Monday, the cops said.

The accused lived next to the girl’s hut and worked in the same factory as her father, the police said, adding the girl sustained injuries to her private parts. She was taken to a civil hospital in Bharuch but her condition worsened due to an injury in the waist and she had to be immediately operated on. The survivor was referred to a government hospital in Vadodara.

Superintendent of Police, Mayur Chawda, said, the man, Vijay Paswan, raped her and inserted an iron rod in her private parts, adding that during their preliminary investigation, they found that the accused raped the girl last month as well.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Kushal Oza said, “The accused abducted the girl when she was playing near her hut and took her into the bushes. He raped her and fled the spot, leaving her bleeding. The girl’s mother found her after hearing her cries for help.”

The police said the girl’s father and the accused know each other since they work in the same factory. Paswan is married and has two children. The police have filed charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

– with inputs from Mahendra Prasad

Bharuch:

A 10-month-old girl was raped by a 30-year-old man in Gujarat’s Bharuch on Sunday, police said. The incident took place in Panoli village when the accused took the baby away when she was playing in the courtyard of her house. 

The accused, identified as Deepak Kumar Lalbabu Singh, sexually assaulted the infant while taking her to his home, Deputy Superintendent of Police Kushal Oza said. 

According to the police, the child’s mother works at a restaurant. The accused knew the infant and her family and had on many occasions, come to their house to play with her. On Sunday, when the infant was playing in her courtyard, the accused took her away and raped her not far from the house. 

The child’s grandmother heard her cries and rushed to find the baby bleeding and severely injured. Outraged locals apprehended the accused and handed him over to the police. Later, the child’s mother who rushed to the scene upon hearing the disturbing news, carried her baby to  Bharuch Civil Hospital, where her condition worsened due to the severe injuries. 

The police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita before arresting the accused and further legal proceedings are underway.

A medical examination of both the victim and the accused has been conducted as part of the investigation.

(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)