A 24-year-old vagabond has been arrested for allegedly luring a 5-year-old girl and raping her in Dwarka. Police said  the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a senior police official, the accused identified as Nanhey, a resident of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh (UP), allegedly lured the girl with ‘Frooti’ and took her to a deserted bushy area in Dwarka’s sector 23.

“After raping her, he left her in the bushes adjoining road and fled. A passerby spotted the girl coming out of the bushy area and informed the police. A police team rushed to the spot and the girl was rushed to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where doctors confirmed rape,” said the senior police official adding that the girl has been shifted to Safdarjang Hospital where she is undergoing treatment and is said to be in stable.

“The victim could not tell her address or her parents’ name following which a police team was formed to find out the family of the girl. After appropriate efforts, the parents of the girl, who work as daily labourers, were found and police informed them about the incident,” said the senior police official.

“A case has been registered under appropriate sections and during investigation, police found a CCTV footage of the area where Nanhey was seen holding the hand of the girl and walking out of the area following which search was launched and the accused was arrested on Tuesday evening from the Dwarka as he was wearing the same shirt as seen in the CCTV footages,” said the senior police official. “The accused told police that he is an alcoholic and keeps on doing odd jobs in order to survive. The accused, who was unemployed and lived in the same locality as that of the victim,” said the senior police official adding that further investigation is underway.