A three-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and raped by a 48-year-old man in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
The incident occurred on Saturday, August 17, 2024, when the child was sleeping with her mother on a footpath outside a temple. The suspect, Harish Sindhi, is accused of abducting the girl while she was sleeping. She was found the next morning with injuries and bite marks on her body, and a medical examination confirmed she had been raped.
Sindhi, who works at a tea stall in the city, was arrested on Sunday. Police reported that he was drunk at the time of the crime and that his wife and son do not live with him.
The child was discovered around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, wrapped in a red ‘odhani’ (stole), by a woman setting up her shop outside the temple. ACP Anil Kumar stated that CCTV footage revealed Sindhi taking the girl around 2 a.m. while she was sleeping with her family outside the temple.
According to DCP (West) Rajesh Kumar Yadav, the girl’s family is from Madhya Pradesh and resides in a slum in Jodhpur. The child’s mother is mentally ill and had been sitting outside the temple with her five-year-old son.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot condemned the incident, stating, “The rape of a three-year-old girl in Jodhpur is deeply disturbing. This crime has caused outrage among the public. Such incidents are creating an atmosphere of fear among the people of Rajasthan. This is an example of criminals becoming fearless due to the diminishing authority of the government and police.”
Gehlot also criticized the law and order situation in Jodhpur, noting the increase in shootings, robberies, murders, and rapes. He urged Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma to take immediate action to prevent crime in the state.
