crime

Six-year-old Odisha girl critical after rape, neighbour arrested

kathua-rape-murder-protest-reuters People participate in a protest against the rape of an eight-year-old Bakarwal girl near Jammu, and a teenager in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, in Amritsar | Reuters

A six-year-old girl was raped in Odisha's Cuttack district, following which a man has been arrested, police said on Sunday.

The girl is in critical condition and admitted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack after she was found unconscious in a school compound in Salipur area on Saturday night.

The accused, Mohammad Mustaq, a neighbour, has been arrested, the police said.

The girl was reported missing after she went to a shop near Jagannathpur Nodal Upper Primary school to buy chocolates around 6 pm on Saturday. As she did not return home, her family searched for her, but to no avail.

Later, she was found unconscious in the school around 7.30 pm.

"The accused lured her away with a chocolate. After raping her on the school premises, he attempted to kill her by throttling her," Salipur sub-divisional police officer P.K. Jena told IANS.

Health Minister Pratap Jena visited the hospital.

"A team of 13 doctors has been set up to treat the girl, who is in the Intensive Care Unite. Whether the girl was raped or not will be known after reports are received from various departments. However, the girl has several injuries on her body," the Minister said.