NEW DELHI: A 4-year-old girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in the Shahbad Dairy area of outer north Delhi following which the police arrested the accused, an official said on Thursday.
The accused, identified as Paalak (an alias name), was caught within 12 hours of the incident.
Sharing details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer-north) Ravi Kumar Singh said a PCR call was received at Shahbad Dairy police station at around 9 pm on Wednesday (August 21) in which a man told the police that his neighbour had lured his 4-year-old daughter and sexually assaulted her.
Sensing the gravity of the matter, the police immediately reached the spot where they met the members of the victim's family. The toddler girl was taken to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital where she was examined by a doctor.
"A Medico-Legal Case (MLC) was prepared and the victim was counselled by a DCW counsellor after which she was safely handed over to her parents," the DCP told TNIE.
The parents of the victim girl told the police that their daughter was taken by their neighbour, who goes by an alias named Paalak, at around 3 pm by luring her with sweets and toffees. After three hours at around 6 pm, the parents found their daughter in a despondent state near a lane close to their house.
The victim then narrated the incident following which the parents informed the police.
Based on their complaint, the police registered an FIR under sections of the kidnapping of the BNS and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act read with relevant sections of the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The DCP informed that after registration of the case, multiple teams were formed to trace the accused.
"The teams conducted raids at multiple locations and possible hideouts after which the accused was nabbed and placed under arrest," the officer said.
Meanwhile, an irate mob of locals attempted to vandalise and torch the house of the accused, however, due to heavy police presence a major tragedy was averted.
According to the official sources, the accused belongs to another religion due to which there was a slight communal tension in the area.
"We are trying to maintain law and order. As of now, there is peace in the area and no communal flare-up. The accused is arrested and further probe is on," the DCP told TNIE.