19-year-old arrested for raping toddler in Damoh

BHOPAL: A two-year-old was raped, allegedly by her visiting relative, in a village in MP’s Damoh on Saturday.Police were in a race to trace the 19-year-old suspect, fearing that the enraged tribals who are also looking for him might harm him. They caught the accused at 4am on Sunday before the villagers got to him.The survivor’s parents had gone out to buy vegetables to cook for the relative who was visiting them. “The couple left their two daughters, one of them aged at two, at home with him,” a policeman said.After the family returned, they found the baby lying on the floor, injured and crying bitterly. The relative was gone. Her elder sister told their parents what had happened, police said.Anger swept through the village. Police sent a team immediately and tracked down the suspect at dawn on Sunday. Villagers rushed to the police station, demanding the suspect be handed over to them.(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)