18-month-old girl raped by father’s ‘babysitter’ friend
NEW DELHI: An 18-month-old girl was raped on Monday by her father’s friend, who was babysitting her in a flat in south Delhi, police said.
The crime came to light later that day, when the child’ s mother returned from work to find blood on her daughter’s clothes. The parents quickly alerted the police. Them an, who had moved to the city two months ago, was living with the family.
Chinmoy Biswal, additional deputy commissioner of police (south), said the 21-year-old suspect was beaten by locals before the police could take him into custody .“The accused has said he did not run away because he regretted his mistake,” Biswal said.
The girl remained in Safdarjung Hospital , from where she is likely to be discharged on Wednesday .“She was brought to the hospital with cuts, bruises and blood clots. However, she did not need any surgical intervention,” said Dr Rajendra Sharma, the hospital’ s medical superintendent. The girl’s father runs a business in which he supplies labourers and workers in exchange for commissions. The mother is a domestic help. The couple have two other children— a 10-year-old son and a six-yearold daughter.
The girl’s father said that he had helped the suspect get a job as a guard at a coffee shop in Hauz Khas.
“He belongs to my village and had been staying at my house for the last two months. Since his duty was at nights, he would take care of my children when my wife and I would be away at work ,” the father said.
On Monday morning, the girl’ s parents left for work and her two older siblings went to school, leaving the child in the man’s care .“When my wife returned in the evening, she found blood on the girl’s clothes. She then realised the girl had been sexually assaulted,” said the father.
The girl’s mother has alleged that a friend of the suspect was also involved in the rape, but the police said there was no evidence so far to corroborate this. “We continue to probe the parents’ allegations earnestly and will act if anyone else was involved ,” said Dependra Pathak, the Delhi Police spokesperson.