Minor girl dies after repeated rape by neighbour

A 9-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted over the period of time by her neighbour died at a hospital in northeast Delhi.

A 9-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted over the period of time by her neighbour died at a hospital in northeast Delhi where she was admitted four days ago, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the matter came to light after the girl’s father, a rickshaw-puller, filed a complaint with the Khajoori Khas police and accused his neighbour of raping his daughter. A case of rape and sections of the POCSO Act was registered against the neighbour.

The suspect works as a labourer and has been arrested. Police said the girl’s family did not file a complaint even as the girl was admitted at the GTB hospital on July 10. They approached the police only after her death.

In his complaint to the police, the girl’s father alleged that his daughter was raped on July 4, when she was out to play with her friends.

The girl’s father told cops that his daughter went missing after she left home to play with her cousin.

“The cousin told them the neighbour had called her while they were playing. He gave Rs 10 for ice-cream and took the girl to his home,” said a police officer, quoting the girl’s father's complaint. The girl’s family has alleged that they caught the neighbour in the act, but he managed to escape. The girl then told her mother that he had raped her earlier too. The girl was later admitted to a hospital but they didn’t report the matter to police.