12-year-old brutally raped at her home, 1 held

Minor had a fracture on her skull and her intestine was ruptured ■ Girl stable after 2 surgeries: AIIMS

A 12-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in west Delhi’s Paschim Vihar area. The accused also hit her face and head with a sharp object at her home, police said. According to the doctors, the girl has a fracture on her skull and her intestine was ruptured, indicating injury by a foreign object. The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested a 33year-old man in connection with the assault, officials said. The accused, identified as Krishan, was identified on the basis of CCTV footage and has a criminal record, they said.

“On Tuesday, a 12-yearold child was assaulted. A case under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) was registered. More than 20 teams were formed. The teams scanned hundreds of CCTV footages and interrogated all the suspects who have a similar background. Finally, the accused was arrested on Thursday,” joint commissioner of police (west) Shalini Singh said.

“During his interrogation, he has corroborated the sequence of events leading to the assault on the child. Krishan has four criminal cases, including one murder, one attempt to murder as well as burglary, against him. We are further investigating,” Mr Singh said.

The victim was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. After preliminary treatment, she was shifted to AIIMS for further treatment.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who also visited the hospital, said the brutality inflicted on the girl has “shaken is soul” and the government will hire the best lawyers to bring the guilty to justice. He also announced an ex-gratia of `10 lakh for the girl’s family.

“She has suffered severe injuries but after 2 surgeries her condition is stable now. She was operated upon late on Tuesday night. She is in the ward and on oxygen support,” the doctor said.

Besides the sexual assault, the girl was hit on the face and head with a sharp object. She was found lying in a pool of blood by her neighbours at her home in Paschim Vihar on Tuesday evening, according to police.

“The girl has multiple head fractures and bite marks all over her body. She has been brutally assaulted to the extent that there are injury marks on every part of her body,” said DCW chief Swati Maliwal.