A police team has gone with the girl and her family to Jabalpur (Representational)
A six-year-old girl was raped and was blinded in a savage attack near her home in Damoh in Madhya Pradesh, the police said today. The child has been admitted to hospital in a critical state. The accused has been arrested.
She was playing with her friends close to her home last evening when she was drawn away by an unknown man, the police say. She had been missing since then. She was found this morning, unconscious, in an abandoned house in her village. Her hands were tied with rope.
"She was raped and has severe injuries to her eyes," said senior police officer Hemant Singh Chauhan.
"We have questioned many suspects and we are working on some leads," he told reporters.
A bounty of Rs 10,000 had been declared for the attacker.
A police team has gone with the girl and her family to Jabalpur, where she is being treated for severe injuries all over her body.
At a time when coronavirus has gripped the world and the country is in lockdown to fight its spread, the horrific assault has stunned Madhya Pradesh.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called the incident shameful and unfortunate. "Directions have been issued to arrest the accused promptly and toughest possible punishment will be given. Best possible treatment will be provided to the little girl," he tweeted.
His predecessor Kamal Nath, who lost power last month after the Congress lost its thin majority, attacked the BJP government over what he called a "horrific and inhuman act", alleging that criminals had been emboldened in the state during the lockdown.
This is the third rape in six days in the state amid the lockdown.
On April 18, a 17-year-old in Bhopal, on her way to a hospital, was dragged into a car, taken to a deserted area and raped. The day before, a 53-year-old visually challenged bank manager had been raped in her apartment, allegedly by an unknown attacker.