MP: Suspect who made sexual assault on 4-year-old minor girl arrested

Bhopal, May 3 (IANS) The police have arrested a suspect in the case of the kidnapping and sexual assault of a four-year-old minor girl at Khagamau village, in the Majhgawan Police Station area of Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district.

The accused, identified as Kamlesh Lodhi alias Kariya, aged 22 years, lured the child with toffees while she was alone and took her away under the pretence of attending a wedding dinner organised nearby in the village.

After committing the crime, he abandoned her near a grocery shop and fled. He has been arrested on Friday and sent to jail, the investigation officer said.

The incident took place on the evening of April 26, at around 7.30 p.m., when a wedding procession had arrived in the village.

Male members of the girl's family had already left for the venue, and she insisted on joining them.

Her mother dressed her up and made her sit outside the house, assuring her they would go together after finishing household chores.

However, while the mother was occupied inside, the child left alone, investigation officer Dhannu Singh told IANS.

While the girl child was waiting outside for her mother, she encountered the accused, whom she trusted and referred to as "Bhaiya" (elder brother).

Exploiting her innocence, he led her away in an open area behind a school in the village and committed the sexual assault.

Hours later, a woman found the girl by the roadside, visibly terrified and crying inconsolably, the police said.

She was taken home, where bloodstains on her clothing alerted her mother and other family members to the severity of the situation. The family rushed to the police station to report the crime, the police officer said.

Due to the absence of a female officer at the time, the formal complaint was registered in the early hours of April 27 under relevant sections of the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita (BNS) and the POCSO Act.

A medical examination confirmed that the child had been sexually assaulted, said the officer. The police faced difficulties in identifying the culprit, as the child did not know his name and repeatedly referred to him as “Bade Bhaiya".

Investigators rounded up several individuals matching her description, including guests who had come from outside the village to attend the wedding.

When shown a photograph of the suspect, the child reacted with fear, confirming his identity.

Initially, the accused attempted to mislead the police by implicating others and claiming he had been outside the village at the time of the incident.

However, after sustained questioning, he eventually confessed to the crime.

Police arrested Lodhi late on May 2, and he was presented before the special court under POCSO Act, from where the accused sent to jail to judicial custody as further investigations continue.

--IANS

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