Horror as six-year-old Indian girl ‘is raped, strangled and left fighting for life’ as Government approves death penalty for child rape
The little girl was found naked and covered in blood, with head and neck injuries, following the attack in Odisha, east India
A SIX-year-old girl is fighting for her life after allegedly being raped and strangled after going shopping in an Indian village.
The child, who had gone out to buy biscuits, was left for dead inside a school in Cuttack district of Odisha, in the east of the country on Saturday.
The attack happened on the same day the Indian government approved the death penalty for anyone convicted of raping a child under the age of 12.
A 25-year-old suspect, who is from the same village, has been arrested in connection with the horrific assault.
Relatives and friends desperately searched for the girl when she failed to return home, reports local media.
She was reportedly found naked with injuries to her face, neck and chest.
Police said: “After a frantic search for over an hour, the girl was found lying unconscious and without clothes inside the school campus with blood oozing from her head and mouth,” reports The Times of India.
The girl is said to be in a “very critical” condition in a hospital in Cuttack.
On Saturday, India’s cabinet approved the death penalty for child rapists amid uproar over a series of recent high-profile cases.
Massive protests were held across the country following the gang rape and murder of eight-year-old Asifa Bano.
The government came under fire for not doing enough to prevent sexual-assault cases, many involving children.
A number of serious crimes in India carry the death penalty, but raping a child was not among them until now.
She was kidnapped, murdered and gang-raped for three days at a temple.
The executive order was cleared at a special cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Minimum prison sentences for rape against girls under the age of 16 and women have also been raised.
Asifa was kidnapped, murdered and gang-raped for three days at a temple. Her death sparked international outrage when it came to light in early April.
The men arrested for the crime included a retired government official, four police officers and a minor.
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