A four-year-old girl was raped allegedly by a 22-year-old youth in Baad village in Sankeshwar police limits of Hukkeri taluk on Monday night.
The victim has been admitted to the KLE Prabhakar Kore hospital here.
The accused, Shivanand, alias Pappu, son of Sannababu Mali, has been arrested. The police have booked cases against the accused under Sections 376 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code.
The police said that Shivanand, whose house is on the same lane as that of the victim, frequented the girl’s house, and therefore, was familiar to the girl and her parents.
Around 8.30 p.m. on Monday, he went to their house and is said to have lured the girl with chocolates, according to the police.
The police said that he took her out on his motorcycle to a secluded place on the outskirts of the village where the crime was committed. Later, the accused dropped the girl back in front of the house and returned home.
The incident came to light when the girl’s mother, who was alone in the house then, came out to see her daughter crying in pain. She soon realised that something was amiss, and with the help of her husband, who rushed back to the house, shifted the girl to the government hospital in Sankeshwar town. They also lodged a complaint with the police around mid-night. Subsequently, as per the advice of the doctors, the girl was shifted to the KLE hospital here on Tuesday.
Hospital sources said that the condition of the girl was critical. She has been put on ventilators.
