A local man allegedly raped a 13-month-old boy in a field in a village at Ghatampur in Kanpur rural on Wednesday evening, police said. Villagers caught the man and handed him over to the police.

Circle officer Ravi Pratap Singh said the man, identified as Umesh Prajapati, was arrested and a case under the POCSO (Protection of Children From Sexual Offences) Act registered against him. The child has been admitted in a local hospital for treatment.
Police said the incident took place after the boy’s mother, along with her father- in-law, had gone to the field, about 100 metres from their house, to collect fodder for cattle.
Since both needed to carry stacks of fodder, the mother left the child in a field and decided to pick him up after her work was done. Soon, they heard the baby screaming and rushed to the spot.
They saw Prajapati running away and the child bleeding profusely. Some other villagers chased Prajapati and caught him.