The second accused in the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in Delhi was arrested in Bihar, police said on Monday.
The accused Pradeep, a native of Darbhanga district, was arrested from Barhaya in Lakhisarai district, soon after the prime accused Manoj Kumar revealed that he had an accomplice. Once police officials get a transit remand from Darbhanga court, they will bring Pradeep to Delhi on Monday (22 April).
The five-year-old girl was kidnapped on 15 April by Manoj, a daily labourer, while she was playing outside her home in east Delhi's Gandhinagar locality. Manoj held her captive in the basement of the same building, where he had rented a room a week ago.
Manoj raped the girl repeatedly and mutilated her private parts. After subjecting her to the brutal attack, he tried to strangulate her as he feared arrest. After the girl fell unconscious, the accused thought that she had died and fled to his native village in Bihar. Two days later, the girl was rescued by her family members after hearing her screams. She was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a critical condition. Doctors at the hospital have now said that the child's condition is stable and is improving.
The prime accused, who was hiding in his in-laws' house in Bihar, was arrested from state's Mujaffarpur district on Saturday. Following his revelations that he had an accomplice, the Delhi and Bihar police conducted a massive hunt to find Pradeep - the second accused. He was hiding in his maternal uncle's house when cops arrested him on Monday.
