Katni, Sep 11: A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man who picked her up while she was asleep in her house at a village in Madhya Pradesh's Katni district on Sunday, police said.

The incident took place at Amehata village under the Kymore police station limits around 3 am, Katni's Superintendent of Police Sunil Jain said. UP Shocker: Five Held for Gang-Rape of Dalit Minor in Lakhimpur Kheri

The accused allegedly picked up the child when she was asleep in her house. The family members woke up and started looking for the girl who was later found near the house, he said.

Villagers claimed that a man, who worked in a cement factory and lived in the neighbourhood, had committed the crime, the official said. Moradabad Shocker: Rape Survivor Dies by Suicide After Audio Clip of Rapist Bragging About Sexual Assault Goes Viral

Based on a complaint lodged by the victim's family, a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered and a search has been launched for the accused, he said.

Meanwhile, villagers staged a protest around 8 am, claiming that the police's emergency response vehicle had caught the accused, but he managed to escape from the vehicle.

After a complaint by the child's family members, a head constable was suspended, the official said.

The girl, who was seriously injured, was referred to the district hospital from Vijayraghavgarh health centre, and later shifted to Jabalpur Medical College for treatment, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)