A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an older male relative in a cowshed in the Singrauli district of central India on October 23, police said. The man is accused of taking the girl and another minor on a motorcycle ride before the alleged assault.
Incident Details
The suspect allegedly took the two children to a cowshed, where he made the other child stand outside while he assaulted the five-year-old. Indian authorities said he then threatened her not to tell anyone about what had happened.
Two days later, the girl complained of pain to her mother, prompting the family to file a police report. Officials registered a case under the relevant legislation on October 25, according to the Times of India.
Police Response
Abhimanyu Dwivedi, head of Waidhan police station, said: "The incident took place on October 23, but since the survivor is a child, she could not comprehend and tell her parents about."
He added: "It was only on October 25, when her mother was bathing her, that she complained of pain. When questioned, she told her mother what had happened. They then rushed to the police station."
Arrest and Investigation
The child was taken to hospital, where she received treatment before being discharged. She is said to be in a stable condition. Officers tracked down the suspect, and he was arrested within an hour of the complaint being made, Mr Dwivedi said, adding that further investigation is underway.
The alleged attack took place in a village in the Singrauli district, a major industrial area in central India known as the country's "energy capital" due to its vast coal reserves. While the district's crime rate of 318.88 crimes per 100,000 people sits below the wider state of Madhya Pradesh's rate of 570.3, it has faced challenges involving violent disputes and crimes against women.
Offences against women, including sexual assault, are highly prioritised and heavily monitored by authorities in Singrauli, according to the State Crime Records Bureau, with local stations operating dedicated portals for rapid response.
