Man arrested for raping 4-year-old girl in Faridabad

The accused left the girl for dead in the bushes. She was discovered several hours later and remains in critical condition

A four-year-old girl was raped and dumped in roadside vegetation near her home in Dabua, Faridabad, earlier this week, police said, adding that she remains in critical condition while the accused was arrested on Wednedsay.

Police said the suspect was from Kaluka in Palwal and worked as a ragpicker for a scrap dealer in Faridabad. (Representational image)

The accused, 22-year-old Mohammad Javed alias Jabid, worked as a ragpicker in the area. He spotted the girl playing outside her house on Monday afternoon when he was passing through her neighbourhood.

He approached her and gave her ₹5 to buy a packet of biscuits from a nearby shop. When she began eating the biscuits, he lured her, quickly lifted her into his arms and fled into the nearby bushes, where he raped her, said police.

During the assault, he clamped down hard on her nose and mouth with one hand to ensure she made no sound, resulting in the girl passing out. Believing she was dead, the accused left her there after the rape, said police. The spot was 1.5km away from her house.

The girl was discovered missing a few hours later at 5.30pm when her mother, a daily wage worker, returned home.

“Her mother alerted her husband and neighbours and launched a search. When they could not find her, they approached the police. At the same time, commuters heard the faint cries of the injured girl lying on the roadside and alerted the Dabua police station. A police team rescued the girl and informed her parents,” said Yashpal Yadav, public relations officer of Faridabad police.

Police first took the girl to BK Hospital where she got emergency treatment and was then referred to a higher centre due to her critical condition and severe internal injuries.

“We took her to a top private hospital and decided to bear all medical expenses based on directions from Faridabad police commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta,” he added.

Based on a complaint from the girl’s mother, a first information report was registered against the suspect at Dabua police station on Tuesday under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences.

This was a blind case as there was no clue about the suspect, said police, adding that a special investigation team headed by ACP Barkhal Vishnu Prasad was formed.

“After scanning hours-long footage from at least 68 CCTV cameras in Dabua and neighbouring areas, we spotted a man carrying the girl in his lap in footage that lasted a few seconds. We circulated his photos everywhere, and realised that the man was a ragpicker who frequently visited the victim’s neighbourhood. He was tacked down and arrested from Kureshipur at 8pm on Wednesday,” said Yadav.

Police said the suspect was from Kaluka in Palwal and worked as a ragpicker for a scrap dealer in Faridabad.

The accused was produced before a court in Faridabad on Thursday and was taken on three-day police remand to determine the exact sequence of events on Monday and to find out if he had targeted any girl previously.