

New Delhi: Investigations in the brutal rape of the four-year-old child in a slum in Keshavpuram have revealed that she remained missing for an hour during which her family searched frantically for her. While three youths have been detained from a local liquor shop for questioning, police suspect the involvement of someone known to the family.

The prime suspect is the youth who stayed near the child's house since cops found his statements contradictory. The girl has told police that the prime suspect had lured her with a plate of chowmein which costs Rs 10. Based on this, police picked him up for interrogation. The possibility of more than one person being involved in the crime has not yet been ruled out. Apart from the liquor shop, raids were also conducted in a railway yard.

The injuries on the child's body suggest that the attacker had gagged her when she tried to call for help while being raped. The assailants then slit her throat and private parts with a blade after which she fell unconscious. Presuming she was dead, the men hid the girl behind the bushes but dropped the blade while fleeing.

The child was found by a neighbour an hour after her rape. "We initially thought she had died but she started breathing minutes after her mother picked her up. We did not expect her to survive the kind of injuries she has," said the child's grandfather.

More than 20 police teams, including special staff and special task force, are investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, the child underwent another surgery on Sunday afternoon. Hospital authorities said that she has deep gashes on her private parts and bite marks all over her body.

There are scratches on the back of her thighs and her face is bruised. Most of her internal organs, including intestines, are damaged due to the repeated penetrations. She is in the intensive care unit and still unconscious. The child had to undergo multiple colostomy surgeries to allow her fluids to pass.

Doctors have told the family that it would be at least two months before she can be discharged from hospital. She would be bedridden for the next six months at least, if she recovers from the current state.

