Delhi Man Arrested For Kidnapping And Raping 4-Year-Old Girl, Was Caught On CCTV

The Delhi man caught on security camera footage last week kidnapping a four-year-old girl who he later raped and abandoned near a park was arrested late on Monday night, police said. The accused, identified as Anil Pathak, is being questioned, while the girl is reportedly fighting for her life at a hospital.

The crime was reported from Bhalswa Dairy area in outer-north Delhi on Wednesday. Police said Anil Pathak kidnapped the girl, daughter of daily wage labourers, from outside her house where she was playing.

Security camera footage from the area showed the accused carrying the girl in his arms.

The victim's parents filed a missing complaint when she didn't return home by night. She was found near a park in the area early the next morning, officials said, adding that she was rushed to a hospital for a medical examination, where doctors confirmed that she was raped.

Police had formed three teams to trace the child, and her photograph was shared with other police stations as well. Announcements were also made in the area about her.

Devesh Kumar Mahla, Deputy Commissioner of Police, outer-north Delhi, said the search continued throughout the night and the child was found near a park at 7 am on Thursday.

A case was registered against the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act for rape and abduction of the minor girl.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) also sought a report from the police in the case.

"Five-year-old girl raped in Delhi. She was picked up from the front of her residence at Bhalswa Dairy and, later, found near a lake. She underwent a surgery in a hospital. My team is with her. We have issued a notice to the Delhi Police so that the accused are arrested soon," DCW chief Swati Maliwal tweeted in Hindi.