MHOW: An eight-year-old girl was lured away on the promise of chocolates and raped by a man in Dhar town on Friday.
The 22-year-old man was caught in the act by a group of people and handed over to police. The girl was injured but is stable in hospital.
Naugaon police station in-charge
Yuvraj Singh told TOI that the accused was known to the girl's family and had been gifting the child chocolates for the past few days.
On Friday, he took her to a secluded area on the outskirts of Dhar town and sexually assaulted her.
The child's parents were searching for the girl when they learnt the horrific truth. They rushed to the police station with neighbours and staged a protest, demanding death penalty to the accused. Additional forces had to be deployed at Naugaon police station to prevent any flare-up.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)