Minor abducted from footpath, molested; 1 held

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A two- year- old homeless girl was allegedly kidnapped from a footpath in North Delhi’s Kotwali and sexually assaulted by a 24- year- old vagabond in a nearby railway- washing yard on the wee hours of Saturday.

Ten teams of Delhi police, which raided various locations in the n e i g h b o u r h o o d overnight, arrested the accused on Sunday morning. The man had earlier been arrested in Hardwar in a case of theft, police said.

The girl was left near the railway tracks. The accused is a drug addict, police added.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped by the accused on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday while she was sleeping with her mother on a footpath, a senior police officer said.

Around 2.30 am on Saturday, the woman found her daughter missing and started looking for her. The woman approached the police around 10.00 am on Saturday, following which a kidnapping case was registered.

Around afternoon, the police learnt that a baby girl had been admitted to a hospital in Central Delhi. Subsequently, she was identified as the girl who was kidnapped.

It was revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and the accused dumped her near the railway tracks, from where she was rescued by a team of police personnel. The girl underwent surgery and

Ten teams of Delhi police, which raided various locations in the neighbourhood overnight, arrested the accused on Sunday morning

◗ The man had earlier been arrested in Hardwar in a case of theft

is now said to be stable.

The police identified the accused by scanning CCTV footage. Following this, a trap was laid and the accused was nabbed, the officer said.

The accused used to collect garbage for a living and also worked as a waiter during the wedding season. Three months ago, he was arrested in connection with a theft case, the officer added.

Delhi Commission For Women chairperson Swati Maliwal met the girl in the hospital and expressed outrage over the incident.

“1.5 year old homeless girl brutally raped in Delhi. Met her in hospital & can’t describe her condition. Her beggar mom is inconsolable. Her cries ring in my head. Thru my Anshan, law 4 death 2 rapist created but till date no rapist given death in Delhi! No fear amongst criminals ( sic)," she tweeted.

She also took a dig at Haryana chief minister ML Khattar, who had recently courted controversy over his remarks on rape incidents.