3-year-old rape victim battles for life in Kerala

A three-year-old girl who was allegedly gang-raped, is battling for life at Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode.

The girl, daughter of a destitute woman, was sleeping beside her mother in front of a shop near the district hospital at Malappuram town on Tuesday night. She was lying in a pool of blood at the compound of the nearby Mahila Mandir on Wednesday.

An employee of the mandir informed the police who rushed her to hospital. The employee said the child was down with fever, crying in pain and often fainted.

The girl has been subjected to two major operations. The hospital said though surgeries were successful, the chances of infection were high. She is now in ICU. He said the child’s intestine and related organs have been severely ruptured in the assault. Thirur police in Malappuram district have taken 16 people into custody in connection with the incident.

Police said some people who used to disturb the girl’s mother during the night and consumed alcohol and drugs in the streets around the district hospital have been taken into custody.