A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a youth at a village in Mouda taluka in the district, about 40 kms near Nagpur, the police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Sunday, the police said adding that the accused, identified as thirty-year-old Suresh Kushal Khedkar from Gosavi Mangli village in the district, has been arrested.
The victim had gone to Mouda with her parents to attend a relative's wedding. While the elder members of the family were busy in the marriage hall, the accused took the girl to a nearby field, sexually assaulted her and left her there.
At night, the girls' parents and relatives realised that the minor had gone missing, following which they launched a search, police said. The next morning, some villagers found the girl at the farm and informed the police.
The girl was rushed to the state-run Mayo GeneralHospital, where doctors confirmed that she had been raped. The police started interrogating some youths in the nearby areas and zeroed in on the accused, who was arrested him from his residence early on Tuesday.
Khedkar has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, police inspector Mitharam Taide told PTI over phone.
