An eight year old girl from a family of migrant workers who was sleeping in her house was abducted and sexually assaulted at Aluva near Kochi in Kerala during the early hours of Thursday.
The victim was hospitalised with serious injuries. Her condition was stated to be stable.
A habitual offender was held by the police by the afternoon.
In July a five year old girl from a migrant family was sexually assaulted and murdered by a migrant worker in the same locality. The recurring incidents of sexual assaults of minor girls have triggered strong protests with the opposition Congress accusing of police's inefficiency in ensuring protection of women and children in the state.
According to local sources, the accused took the eight year old girl away from her home at around 2 am on Thursday. He took the girl to a nearby vacant land and sexually assaulted her. The girl was also beaten up when she screamed and resisted.
Some people in the neighbourhood woke up on hearing the girl screaming and started a search. Subsequently the accused fled the spot.
Police recovered CCTV footage of the suspect and launched a search. The victim and eye witnesses were learnt to have identified the suspect from CCTV footage.
By afternoon the suspect was held from a hide out beneath a bridge in the locality. Sources identified the suspect as Kristal Raj, 27, hailing from Chenkal on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuam. He has been accused in a case of sexually assaulting an elderly woman and several theft cases. An official confirmation of the police regarding his arrest was awaited.
Ernakulam rural district police chief Vivek Kumar told the media the victim's condition was stable. She suffered serious injuries and had undergone a surgery, he said.
Published 07 September 2023, 04:09 IST