Another rape: Anger rises, protests spread in Delhi as 5-year-old victim battles for life

IANS | Apr 19, 2013,

Delhi: Minor raped, kin asked not to raise voice

Delhi: Minor raped, kin asked not to raise voice
NEW DELHI: A 200 ml bottle and pieces of candle were inserted into the private parts of the five-year-old rape victim, a doctor said on Friday, adding that he had “never seen such a case”.

“Upon examination, we found a 200 ml bottle and two or three pieces of candle inserted into her private parts. This is the first time that I have seen such barbarism with a five-year-old,” RK Bansal, medical superintendent, Swami Dayanand Hospital, told reporters.

“There were injuries on her lips and cheeks and bruise marks on her neck, suggesting that attempts were made to strangle her. The blood pressure was way below normal, and she had fever when she was admitted,” the doctor said.

“The child’s condition is very critical. She is in ICU right now and will be under observation for the next 24-48 hours,” he said.

The girl was abducted on April 15 and kept hostage for two days without food and water in a flat owned by the attacker, said to be in his 30s. He lived on the ground floor of the building in east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar, in which the victim’s family also stayed, police said.

The girl, who was raped repeatedly, was rescued when members of her family heard her screams on Wednesday evening, police said.

Meanwhile, family, neighbours and activists of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) on Friday protested outside the hospital where she was admitted in a serious condition.

Protestors gathered outside the Swami Dayanand Hospital in Shahdara, east Delhi and raised slogans against Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Police.

They demanded immediate arrest of the accused in the case and said the girl should be shifted to a better hospital like the All India Institute of Medical SciencesAIIMS).

“The police tried to suppress the matter and even offered Rs 2,000 to the family to keep quiet. On top of that, the child was admitted to a hospital which does not even have proper facilities and equipment,” AAP spokesperson Aswathi Muralidharan said.

“We want a better hospital and immediate arrest of the accused,” she said.

The girl’s father told reporters that he had earlier approached the police with a complaint that his daughter was missing, but they failed to register his complaint.