Phuket Gazette World News: 6-year-old girl raped in northern India

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: A six-year-old girl was raped and physically brutalized last week before being dumped on the side of a street in northern India, local media reported yesterday. It is the latest incident in a series of brutal sexual assaults that have shocked the nation.

The latest incident began at around 7pm local time on Sunday when a 6-year-old girl was abducted while playing outside her house near the town of Kapashera, located southwest of the capital New Delhi. She was found about three hours later on the side of a street, crying and in a pool of blood.

The Times of India, quoting police sources, said the young girl was found by a motorist who informed police. She was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in a critical condition with her intestines partially damaged and her genitals suffering from major injuries. She has since undergone a number of emergency surgeries.

One witness told officers that the girl was seen with a man in his early twenties, but the newspaper said it is possible the girl had been raped by more than one person. The victim of the brutal attack has not yet been able to provide a statement and police said there have been few leads to work with.

The assault comes less than two months after a group of men brutally gang-raped a 23-year-old student inside a moving bus in New Delhi, prompting nationwide protests to demand justice and better protection for women. The victim was initially said to be in a stable condition but she later suffered severe organ failure as a result of serious injuries to her body and brain. She died at a hospital in Singapore on December 29.

— Phuket Gazette Editors

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