A nine-month-old girl has been allegedly abducted and raped by her 14-year-old relative in Gorakhpur district of India’s Uttar Pradesh (UP), police said on Sunday.
The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday when the accused allegedly took the infant from her home while she was asleep next to her mother. The family woke up to find the child missing and searched the village for hours before finding her lying in a field around 500 metres from the house. She had sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital, where doctors confirmed sexual assault.
During interrogation, the juvenile confessed to the crime and told police he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Police said that the accused is the maternal uncle of the infant and had recently returned to the village. In a detail that emerged during the investigation, he had also joined the family and other villagers in searching for the child after she went missing.
Patil Nimish Dasharath, additional superintendent of police Gorakhpur, confirmed the confession. “He stated that he had taken the child from the house while she was asleep and committed the offence under the influence of alcohol,” Dasharath said.
Investigators detained the boy after reviewing CCTV footage and questioning locals. His mobile phone was seized and objectionable content found on it is being examined. Swab samples and other evidence have been sent to a forensic science laboratory.
The juvenile has been sent to a shelter home and is set to appear before the Juvenile Justice Board on Monday.
