5-year-old girl raped, dumped and left bleeding on roadside

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A five-year old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and dumped in a semi-conscious state on a roadside in the suburb of KG Halli in Bengaluru early yesterday.

The girl, who was bleeding and had several serious injuries, was found by a beat patrol and taken to the state-run Bowring Hospital. Doctors suspect that she has been sexually assaulted and said she is currently in shock.

ACP Hemanth Nimbalkar said the girl's mother was traced and a case was registered under the POCSO Act.

Many injuries
"The girl was admitted around 3.45 am to our hospital," Dr Manjunath, the doctor treating the girl, said. He said the child was in shock and a bit disoriented. He added that the sexual abuse cell would conduct further tests.

All her other health parameters were stable. Nimbalkar said three teams have been formed to find the culprit, including a technical team and a special team under the supervision of Ajay Hilory, DCP (Bengaluru East).

'Attacker known to girl'
Nimbalkar quoted the mother as telling the police that her daughter had gone out of the tent, in which they were staying, to attend the call of nature and did not return. "We can find out what happened only after the girl regains full consciousness," he said.

Police suspect the attacker is known to the girl or someone residing near her house. Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning KJ George, who visited the girl, called it a "heinous crime" and said the incident shamed society. He said the child would be provided with the best medical treatment and the police would investigate and take action against the culprits at the earliest.