4-Year-Old Raped By Neighbor While Playing With Brother, Child Found Bleeding

In a shocking incident, a 4-year-old girl was raped by a 23-year-old man who lived next to her home. Police arrested the accused Tuesday.

The girl was playing with her brother outside their home when she was kidnapped by the man. The incident happened Monday in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The accused, identified as Bunty Verma, was a migrant worker, who moved to a rented room next to the minor girl's residence just a month ago, the Times of India reported.

The family of the girl began searching for the minor after she went missing Monday. Her brother informed the parents that the girl was with Verma. The parents arrived at Verma's house but no one opened the door. A neighbor then broke the door open and found the little girl inside. She was bleeding.

The accused reportedly went to sleep after raping the child. Police suspect the accused was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

Verma had threatened the girl with a knife before raping her. Authorities charged him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POSCO) Act for rape and kidnapping. The identity of the victim was not revealed to protect her privacy.

In India, violence against women has been increasing over the years, with many of the victims being minors. India recorded 88 rape cases every day in 2019, according to a National Crime Records Bureau report released last year.

Last month in Rajasthan, a 15-year-old girl accused her father of repeatedly raping her and also biting off her nose. The girl said her father also thrashed her multiple times. In her complaint, the girl started raping her after she turned 13.