6-Year-Old Child, Her Mother, Allegedly Gang-Raped In Moving Car After Hitching A Ride

In a shocking incident, a 6-year-old child and her mother were allegedly gang-raped in a moving car in India.

The police said Sunday the attack occurred Friday night in the northern state of Uttarakhand when the mother-daughter duo had hitched a ride in an unidentified vehicle.

The girl and her mother were waiting for a public transport, but later hitched a ride in a vehicle that was passing through the area.

“The accused gang-raped the mother-daughter duo before leaving them in a secluded place near the Ganga Canal stretch and fled in the car,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity, according to Hindustan Times.

The woman reportedly begs to earn money and lives in a shelter home near the town of Haridwar.

After the girl's mother filed a complaint, the police registered a case under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act at the Civil Lines police station in Roorkee against unknown persons, said Pramendra Dobhal, superintendent of police, Haridwar (Rural).

“The minor has been admitted to Roorkee Civil Hospital, where she is stated to be out of danger,” Dobhal said, according to the Hindustan Times. “A case has been registered at Civil Lines police station in Roorkee against unknown persons. Our hunt is on to nab the culprits. CCTV footages are being scrutinized and vehicular checking at checkpoints is being done.”

The girl's mother, who the police said was in a state of shock, was unable to reveal the vehicle number of the accused involved in the incident, Yogender Singh Rawat, senior police officer in Haridwar, said. She, however, revealed the man, who offered to drive her, was named Sonu, the Times of India reported.

“The mother is not in a state to recollect the incident. She has just named one known person. Our priority is to nab the main perpetrator,” Rawat said.

Last month, several people were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl in Delhi. The minor victim had reportedly taken an auto rickshaw -- a three-wheeled motorized vehicle -- to go to a market on April 24. The auto rickshaw was allegedly being driven by a 20-year-old man. Instead of taking the girl to her destination, the accused and two of his friends took her to a nearby village, where they offered her a soft drink laced with an intoxicant. The three, one of who was a juvenile, gang-raped the minor.