A five-year-old girl, who was raped allegedly by a neighbour after holding her captive for four days, is battling for life due to infection contracted from foreign objects found inside her body, doctors said on Friday.
The incident reported on Thursday from Gandhi Nagar in East Delhi triggered protests outside SwamiDayanandHospital.
Dr R K Bansal of the hospital said the next 24 to 48 hours will be critical for the girl and that there were injuries and bruises on her private parts, chest, lips and cheeks. She had some bruises on her neck which indicated that the accused might have tried to strangle her.
"She was scared and not fully conscious. Initially she did not allow us to proceed with the examination as she was in tremendous pain. She had fever also and after giving medicines, it became normal. However, the fever recurred and we found she had some infection.
"After giving anaesthesia, more tests were conducted and we found that there were some foreign objects like candle and a 200 ml bottle of hair oil inside her body," Bansal said, adding that they were not giving her food as she had infection in her stomach also.
Bansal said it was one of the worst cases his team of doctors had attended to.
Police is on the hunt for the accused, who stayed on the ground floor of the building where the victim and her family lived. The girl was rescued from the accused's house on Friday, four days after she went missing.
The minor's family claimed that the police was "insensitive" by not registering a case in time and that some policemen told them that they should be happy that the girl was alive, allegations which were denied by the force.
"When I went to lodge an FIR, police refused to register the case. If they had made a better attempt, they would have found her. Police told me to be happy that she was alive," her father alleged.
He also alleged that doctors refused to give any information beyond that his daughter was critical.
The girl's mother said the victim went out to play and was kidnapped. "The man then locked her up in his room and raped her. I want justice from the government," she said.
A relative of the girl alleged that when they went to the police station to enquire about the case, the personnel told them that now they should pray for her recovery as she has been rescued.
A senior police official denied the allegations saying they found the child from the same building where the girl was staying and rushed the victim to the hospital.
He said they also immediately registered a case of kidnapping as soon as the matter was reported to them.
Sources said senior doctors from LNJP hospital will visit the victim and then take a decision on the next course of treatment.
The incident saw protests outside the hospital where the girl is undergoing treatment.
The protesters included family members of the minor, neighbours and activists of Aam Aadmi Party.
"The five-year-old rape victim is critical and is in a shabby municipality hospital. Why cannot the government and police shift her to a better hospital?" AAP leader Manish Sisodia said.
In a letter to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai claimed that the incident showed the administration's "inhuman" attitude towards the common person.
"The victim has been admitted by your administration and police to a small hospital where only minimal facilities are available," they said alleging that police tried to win over the parents by offering them money to hush up the case.
"We appeal to you to shift the girl to AIIMS so that her life is saved," they said.
