Bhopal: A child was caught on CCTV cameras Monday walking the streets in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain in torn clothes, with bloodstains on her, knocking on doors and asking for help.
Some local residents called the police, who took her to hospital where a medical examination confirmed rape. The girl is believed to be aged around 12 years.
A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered against unknown persons. The police have detained a suspect, an auto driver, from the city’s Hatkeshwar colony, who was allegedly seen near the girl, trying to forcefully interact with her, according to the CCTV footage, police sources told ThePrint.
Some bloodstains have also been recovered from the back of the suspect’s vehicle, the police sources said.
Going by the CCTV footage, the girl appeared to have walked about eight kilometres — from Mullapura Road towards Hatkeshwar colony where she went knocking on doors.
The footage also caught an elderly man trying to speak to her but she walked away, the police sources said.
Ujjain Superintendent of Police Sachin Sharma said to ThePrint Wednesday, “People mistook her for one of the ragpickers who go from door to door. A local [resident] called up the police. She was taken to the hospital where a medical examination confirmed rape.”
After primary treatment in Ujjain, the girl was taken to Indore’s MY Hospital where she underwent surgery for extensive injuries. Several policemen and volunteers came forward to donate blood needed for the surgery, Sharma said.
Her identity is yet to be ascertained as she is not able to communicate coherently, according to the police. “She is not able to form complete sentences and while she gave her name, we are not sure of her exact identity,” Sharma said.
He said while she did not appear to be of an unsound mind, the girl was unable to provide details of either the crime or how she arrived in Ujjain.
From her accent, the police suspect she belongs to the Banjara community of Uttar Pradesh.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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