Demonstrators carrying placards during a protest against Delhi gang-rape. PHOTO: REUTERS
The girl was attacked inside a locked room over a 48-hour period, police said, after being abducted as she played outside on Monday in a lower-middle class area of the capital New Delhi.
"We initially registered a case of kidnapping. We have now launched a preliminary inquiry into rape and attempted murder," Rajan Bhagat told AFP, adding a hunt was on to catch a family neighbour who is the main accused.
The child was admitted to the intensive care unit of a city hospital on Wednesday and doctors said her condition was "critical" as news channels provided wall-to-wall coverage.
"The girl was traumatised when she was brought to us. There were injuries to her lips, cheeks and chest wall. There were bruises on her neck," RN Bansal, medical superintendent of a local government hospital, told NDTV news channel.
Doctors said the girl's genital area had been mutilated and that objects had been inserted inside her, causing serious internal injuries and infection.
"We are keeping her under constant observation. The next few hours are going to be very critical," Bansal said.
She was found after a passerby heard her crying and alerted the police.
The incident comes just months after India was shaken by the horrific gang-rape of a student in Delhi on a bus last year that triggered countrywide demonstrations and debate over the status of women and girls and their safety.
The woman succumbed to her injuries 13 days after the assault in which her attackers drove an iron rod inside her, damaging her internal organs.
The parents of the five-year-old girl, who was later moved to a better-equipped government hospital in the city, accused the police of being insensitive in their investigation.
"They were reluctant to register our complaint (that she was missing) when we approached them the first time. Then the police asked us to be content with the fact she was at least found alive," the father of the girl said.
Scores of protesters gathered outside the hospital Friday where the child was admitted and shouted abuse at police for failing to investigate her disappearance properly.
Women's rights activists condemned the incident, saying the injuries inflicted on the girl were shocking.
"This incident shows what kind of brutes do we have in society. Society is also responsible for this. It has become full of perverts," said Ranjana Kumari of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research.
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@antanu
Since you are very bad ashamed about the country. You are free to relocate to where you feel good and proud. Nobody is stopping you! By just negatively comenting you are not achieving much.
One more thing I want to say to all the parents and caretakers, please do not leave your children unsupervised at any place. You can not trust anyone in this sick world. Please be aware of the fact that these perverts can be anywhere, in schools, in your neighborhood or even in your home. Its very important to tell your children about possible dangers in a way that they don't get scared but cautious about this kind of danger.
May Allah heal that poor child soon, may Allah this never happens with any child anywhere in the world. My heart cries for this little girl's soul, will she be able to recover from this horrible incident mentally and physically? This thought just haunts me. I pray for her recovery.
As expected, Indians and Pakistanis turned this into a 'this happens over there too' as if that's a point of pride. Why can't this innocent little life be just that: a little girl? Instead of worry about her country of origin, try focusing on the fact that she was brutalized. It often feels as if people are losing all sense of empathy and humanity.
@antanu: Are you sure you are Indian?
@Next: "Those who are soothing themselves by saying that it is also common in Pakistan – well at least Pakistan has not earned a worldwide fame in this obsession yet."
Because your press does not report it or make it a big deal or for that matter widely report honour killings which are another horrendous form of violence against women also. 2 years back Indian press did not report rape cases so aggressively either.
As an Indian I am not happy about the bad press India is getting but some bitter medicine is necessary for disease to be cured. Mindsets have to change and they will not without discussion and debate. The number of rapes in India per 100,000 population is far lower than most Western countries and the perception created is out of line with reality. But that is okay.Fear of negative perception should not allow news about such heinous acts to be shoved under the carpet. Once we change the reality in India with improved laws, improved conviction rate, improved societal attitude towards rape victims, eventually perceptions will catch up.
If you think things are fine in Pakistan when it comes to violence against women - fine, stay complacent. But you will not be doing your country or its women any favours. As @NICOPer said, these atrocities need to be condemned wherever they occur.
please don't compare the data of rapes in India and Pakistan. when girl is raped, it is not just rape for her, but it is destruction of her soul and mind too.
@gp65:
For a change, I have to side with gp65, who I assume is Indian. Honestly, it doesnt matter where these atrocities are happening. We should be collectively condemning these heinous crimes and increasing awareness of women abuse of all forms. I would highly advise both country to drop elitist links when dealing with crime, rape or not. Do not expect your countries to evolve if people keep their mouths shut due to intimidation or shame. The Indian media is doing a tremendous job by exposing this issue. The Pakistani media should do the same. Instead of complaining about politicians, hold them accountable for the crimes their constituents are facing. Stand up for your people, don't let silence get in the way. Criminals should face justice, rapists should get the death penalty. Period.
Its a matter of shame that ghastly act is being seen in Pakistani context.We have become so obsessed with Pakistan that ignore our own evils.
This is becoming a disease in there. Why is this obsession? Those who are soothing themselves by saying that it is also common in Pakistan - well at least Pakistan has not earned a worldwide fame in this obsession yet. You guys should be working for the remedial actions to control this disease out of shame rather than pointing fingers.
@Dwyane: "This is sick, way to many reports of such incidents in India.
Why doesn’t India do anything about this."
These issues are being reported widely because in India the media and civil society has risen and decided that they wil not be silent in face of such brutality. The mindset that the girls' family should be ashamed and hide the facts is also changing. Quite different from Pakistan where Munawar Hassan asked girls to keep quiet after rape if they could not produce 4 male witnesses.
And yes India is doing what it should. It reviewed laws and has changed them. It is reviewing law enforcement mechanism to ensure that rape victims do not have trouble registering complaints and the sentencing rate of the rapists goes up from the current 30% rate (it is 1% in Pakistan).
.Rape happens throughout the world. The only thing a government can do is to ensure that the criminals are brought to justice and what society can do is that victims are rehabilitated instea of being shamed by the society. Those changes are underway big time.
Why we always discuss both two countries.This incident wether it happend in india or in Pakistan it is shameful.So leave the blame game and focuss why all this happening in our countries.
This does only happen in India but also in Pakistan.... Every year 1000 women are killed in the name of honor and these are reported cases there will be many unreported incidents..... The thing is people need education to differentiate between right and wrong..... The upsetting thing is in India people came to the streets and made their voices heard put pressure on the government at least.... But in Pakistan it was not the case unfortunately i don`t know what NGOs are doing may be they are doing but its not effective enough..... And the big question mark on women represntatitive sitting in parliament....
rapes are far more common in pakistan.....take a look at the incidents under "related stories" on this page itself......and that too are hardly reported....:)
This is sick, way to many reports of such incidents in India.
Why doesn't India do anything about this.