Mumbai: Three-year-old Andheri girl raped; raises questions on kids' safety in city

In another startling case on Thursday evening, a three-year-old girl was allegedly raped in an Andheri slum. The girl is in a critical condition and has been admitted to KEM Hospital. The accused, however, is absconding. MIDC Police has been on the hunt for the accused by tapping into CCTV footage in the area.

An officer of MIDC police station said, "The victim's parents said the girl was playing with two other children in the vicinity of Goni Nagar on Mahakali Caves Road, when one of the children alerted them about an unknown person abducting their daughter."

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), zone X, Vinayak Deshmukh said, "The accused tricked the victim by telling her that he would give her a chocolate. He took the girl to a secluded area and sexually violated her. Later, the victim's parents found her crying. The little girl was bleeding profusely as she had abrasions in her genital area."

A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against an unidentified person under sections 376 (a) (punishment for rape), 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).

In Mumbai—considered one of the safest cities in the country—280 cases of minor girls being sexually violated in Mumbai were registered, according to the Mumbai Police data till August 2016. Of the total number, 255 cases have been detected as compared to the corresponding period in 2015. Last year, 265 cases were registered, of which 247 cases are detected. On an average, every day, one minor is sexually violated. 2015 saw 447 such cases, according to police statistics.