Bengaluru: 4-year-old dies of injuries resulting from suspected rape

The girl’s genitals had been assaulted with a sharp object, and she had not been fed for days after the assault.

A four-year-old girl died at the St John’s Hospital here in the early hours of Saturday, succumbing to injuries sustained when she was allegedly raped.

A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped after she was kept in the care of a woman known to her mother. (Representative photo)

Initial reports revealed that the girl’s genitals had been assaulted with a sharp object. Additionally, police said the child had not been fed for days after the assault.

D Sharanappa, deputy commissioner of Bengaluru (South Division), said police arrested the accused and his lover, who are believed to have assaulted the girl.

While the post-mortem report is pending, police believe the girl’s death could have been caused by an infection caused as a result of the assault.

Police identified the accused as Mallikarjuna and Chandana. Both have been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Police said the assault took place about a week ago. The girl was said to have been kept in the care of Chandana after the girl’s father passed away a couple of months ago.

The girl’s mother, a domestic help, was not in the city at the time of the assault and left her daughter in the care of Chandana, whom she knew.

“The girl had not been cared for properly and had ulcers in her stomach,” Sharanappa said.

Sharanappa said Mallikarjuna allegedly raped the girl when Chandana, his lover, was not at home. “We have to investigate whether she was raped repeatedly,” he said.

The incident came to light when the girl developed health issues several days later. Chandana called the mother and asked her to take her daughter back.

The girl was then rushed to a private hospital, where was treated for stomach pain and was later taken to Rajiv Gandhi Children Hospital.

She was eventually taken to the St John’s Medical College. It was there that the assault was discovered, based on which a complaint was filed, and an FIR was registered.