Patna: Police arrested one Manjeet Kumar alias Piyush for allegedly raping a three-year-old girl in Patna on Tuesday. His maternal aunt, Kiran Devi, was also held for conniving in the crime.According to police, Manjeet arrived at his grandmother’s house a week back to attend a wedding. On Monday night, he allegedly forcibly picked the toddler from next door and raped her inside the house. The accused’s aunt then attempted to kill the child to hide the crime. When the girl’s family and police reached the spot after being informed of the incident, they found the toddler injured and unconscious in the room.The girl was immediately rushed to a hospital, where a medical examination confirmed the rape. A case was registered under the Pocso Act on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of Manjeet.A police officer told TOI that the accused kidnapped the girl after she took her dinner around 9.30pm. “He took her to his aunt’s (mami) house and raped her. The girl’s family started searching for her and when they could not find her, they informed the police. A team went to the accused’s house and inquired about the girl, but his aunt denied her presence,” he said.“The team again visited the house at 3am on Tuesday and strictly asked Kiran about the girl’s whereabouts and threatened that the dog squad had been called for an investigation. The woman then revealed that the girl was inside the room and it was bolted from inside. The police broke open the door and found the girl unconscious and admitted her to the hospital, where she is undergoing treatment,” he said.The SI further said during interrogation, it was revealed that both the accused and his aunt planned to kill the girl to cover up the crime. “They thought that she was dead and were planning to dispose of her body when the team finally rescued her,” he said.The main accused has a criminal history. He was earlier jailed under the Pocso Act in another area of Patna in 2023 and was released from prison only a few months ago. The police officer said he committed the same crime about three years back when he went to his in-law’s place.
