NEW DELHI (Reuters)
- Indian police arrested a second man on Monday in connection with the
rape and torture of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi
and parliament was adjourned twice amid an uproar about the crime which
has rekindled popular fury at widespread sexual violence.
The anger echoes the response to the gang rape
of a 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist on a bus on December 16. She
later died of her injuries. Protesters are angry authorities have failed
to prevent more such crimes.
Police say the child was abducted on Monday last week
and kept in captivity by two men in the basement of the building that
she lived in with her family. Neighbors say they found her two days
later after hearing her cries.
Media reported several other attacks on children over
the weekend, including that of a nine-year old girl in the north-eastern
state of Assam, who had her throat slit after being gang-raped, TV
channels said.
A man was arrested
at the weekend for the attack on the five-year-old and is due to appear
in a Delhi court this week. The second suspect, in his early 20s, was
arrested early on Monday at a relative's house in the eastern state of
Bihar on information received from New Delhi, local police chief Rajeev Mishra said.
"He was arrested about 1 a.m.," Mishra said. "...Delhi police and local police made a combined effort to arrest him."
Brutal sex crimes
are common in India, which has a population of 1.2 billion. New Delhi
has the highest number of sex crimes among major cities, with a rape
reported on average every 18 hours, according to police figures.
But most such crimes go unreported and justice is slow,
according to social activists, who say successive governments have done
little to ensure the safety of women and children.
The December 16 attack brought thousands on to the
streets in protest and provoked national debate about the rising number
of vicious attacks on women, putting the issue firmly on the
national
political agenda a year before elections.
Activists planned a fourth day of street action amid heavy security in Delhi
after protesters tussled with police and tried to reach the homes of
India's leaders at the weekend. The protesters are calling for Delhi's police chief to resign.
The five-year-old girl's name has not been revealed,
but media have nicknamed her "Gudiya", or doll. She has undergone
surgery and was in stable condition on Monday, a doctor at the hospital
where she is being treated told reporters.
The lower house of parliament
was adjourned twice after opposition politicians rushed into the
building, some demanding discussion on the rape case. Others were
protesting against corruption and other issues.
"Though parliament has recently passed tougher
legislation to prevent rapes, the evil has not abated and such incidents
are still on the rise throughout the country," House Speaker Meira
Kumar said before the house was adjourned.
The upper house of parliament was due to hold a debate on violence against women in the afternoon.
(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and Annie Banerji; Additional reporting by Nita Bhalla; Editing by Nick Macfie)Labels: elections, india, little girl, parliament, protest, protesters, rape, rapist, torture
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