Bengaluru: A five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted, beaten up and dumped in a semi-conscious state on a roadside in the city after she went outside of her makeshift tent to relieve herself in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
According to the police, the incident occurred in K G Halli police station limits, and the girl was found by a policeman on beat patrol in the area. The girl was bleeding due to head injuries and was immediately rushed to the state-run Bowring hospital, officials added. She has suffered several injuries.
Doctors treating the girl suspect she has been sexually assaulted and said she is currently under shock.
“The girl was admitted at about 3.45 AM at our hospital. There are genital injuries like vaginal tear, her ring finger has been amputated and there is also a scalp injury which led to the bleeding,” Dr Manjunath told reporters.
He said the girl was in shock and a bit disoriented. Prima facie it appears she has been sexually assaulted, he said, adding the sex abuse cell would conduct further tests to ascertain this. Doctors said that she is out of danger and all her vital health parameters are stable. She is currently undergoing treatment at the paediatric intensive care unit of the hospital.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru), Hemanth Nimbalkar, said a case has been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and investigations are on.
He said three teams have been formed, including a technical team and a special team under the supervision of Ajay Hilory, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Bengaluru East).
Nimbalkar said after the doctors suspected sexual assault, the girl’s mother was traced. Following her statement, a case was registered. She told the police that her daughter had gone out of the tent in which they were staying to attend to a nature’s call and did not return.
Cops said they are waiting for the girl to regain consciousness to take her statement. They suspect that someone known to her or someone residing near her house might have committed the crime.
Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning KJ George visited the girl at the hospital on Saturday afternoon. He called it a “heinous crime” and said the incident shames the entire society.
He said she would be provided the best medical treatment possible and police would investigate and take action against the culprits at the earliest.
With PTI inputs