In a horrific incident reported from the national Capital, a two-year-old homeless girl was forcibly picked up from a footpath in North Delhi’s Kotwali and sexually assaulted by a 24-year-old man in a railway washing yard in the early hours of Saturday. He then abandoned her near the tracks of Old Delhi Railway Station. The girl was admitted at LNJP hospital as her condition was quite critical. Doctors performed emergency surgery to save her life as she was bleeding profusely.

The accused identified as Anil, a drug addict, was arrested on Sunday morning after ten teams of Delhi Police raided various locations in the neighbourhood.  Anil is a habitual offender and in the past he was arrested in a case of theft in Haridwar.

According to a senior police official, the two-year-old child was allegedly abducted by the accused while she was sleeping with her mother on a footpath in north Delhi's Kotwali area in the early hours of Saturday.

Around 2.30 am on Saturday the woman found her daughter missing and started looking for her. As the search did not bear fruit, the woman approached police around 10 am on Saturday following which a kidnapping case was registered, he said.

The same day in the afternoon, police learnt that a baby girl had been admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) hospital in Delhi and subsequently, she was identified as the one who was kidnapped from Kotwali, the official said.

It was revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and the accused dumped her near the railway tracks from where she was rescued by a team of police personnel, he said, adding the girl underwent surgery and is now better.

The police identified the accused by scanning CCTV footages. Following this, a trap was laid at various temples and gurdwara where street dwellers usually come for food and subsequently the accused was nabbed.

The 24-year-old Anil used to collect garbage for a living and also worked as a waiter during wedding season, police said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal tweeted on the matter and wrote, "Met her in the hospital and can't describe her condition. Her beggar mom is inconsolable. Her cries ring in my head. Through my Anshan, law for death to rapist was created but till date no rapist is given in Delhi! No fear among criminals."