MP: 4-year-old girl raped, found in a field after 16 hrs; accused detained

A shocking incident of rape of a minor girl has come to the fore from Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa. The girl was abducted by a dhaba worker who raped her in a field and left her there only to be recovered by police after 16 hours.

Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): A 4-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped in a sugarcane field 2 km away from her relative's house at Jaswadi in Khandwa area of Madhya Pradesh, where she had come to celebrate Diwali. The minor was found unconscious late on Monday evening 16 hours after she was reported missing by her family members.

The girl was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in Khandwa and later referred to an Indore hospital where her condition is said to be stable. According to Khandwa SP Vivek Singh, the minor was allegedly abducted in her sleep by a 25-year-old dhaba worker, known to the family, who had come on Sunday night asking for a spare cot to sleep on for the night.

The accused has been arrested and he has admitted to raping the girl. The MP Police initially registered a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and later added charges under Section 376 (Rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) and other relevant provisions of the Act.

Singh said the incident came to light when information about the girl's disappearance was received from her relative's house in Jaswadi on Monday morning. The minor, a resident of village Kankaria, had come to her father's uncle's house, where the incident took place.