Four persons were detained today in connection with the rape of a four-year-old girl at northwest Delhi's Keshav Puram area, said police.
The detained persons include the youth, who the girl's father had named and claimed that he often used to offer toffee to the girl, one of his associates and two other youths from the same slum cluster, said a senior police officer.
Senior officers said that the accused would be arrested by midnight, without disclosing any further details. The victim's father had told the police that he suspected the involvement of two men who had lured the girl with food.
Yesterday, the police claimed to have questioned over a hundred persons in connection with the case and zeroed in on a few, even as the girl's family claimed that she had named a man "Rahul" who used to offer her toffees.
The victim's father told the police that on the night of October 9, two persons allegedly approached the girl and lured her with a packet of noodles and a Rs 10 note. One of them was seen picking up the girl and then handed her over to the other, before they vanished, said a police officer.
"Rahul was the one who handed over the girl to the other unidentified person. Once police catches Rahul, he will reveal name of the accused," father of the victim said.
Later, the girl was found behind bushes near a railway track in the area, bleeding profusely. She was rushed to a hospital, where rape was confirmed.
She was later referred to Safdarjung Hospital. A senior doctor said, "The girl is stable and under observation. We are constantly monitoring her condition."
"She was admitted in the High Dependency Unit of Safadarjung Hospital at 8 PM on September 9. She had injury on her private parts and doctors operated on her," he said.
The doctor said her private parts were seriously injured and a three-hour long colostomy was performed to provide for an alternate opening for passage of stool.
