The body of a four-year-old girl was dumped in a well after she was raped and murdered in India. The child was raped Thursday night and her body was discovered in a well on Friday morning in Chhatarpur, in the northern state of Madhya Pradesh according to report by The Daily Mail.

In the words of Chhatarpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Saurabh:

“The post-mortem report has revealed the girl was subjected to sexual assault and homicide. A case is being registered and suspects are being interrogated.”

In another report by Gulf News, police are accused of being negligent in the handling of the case. Reacting to this, the Superintendent of Police further said that when the investigation is done, if the police are in the wrong, they would be suspended.

Still, about rape, another man was arrested today after he allegedly stole a one-year-old girl from her mother and raped her in a secluded location in Punjab.

The child’s mother told reporters that she found the 45-year-old man, who was one of her neighbours, as he committed the crime.

In her words:

“I thought he might have taken my daughter to play with her but after some time I heard her screams. When I went there, I found that the accused was raping my daughter.”

There were some 40,000 rapes reported in India in 2016, according to the most recent official figures available.

In 2018, the Indian government, under public pressure and approved capital punishment for repeat offenders and for individuals who rape children under the age of 12.

Activists claim the 40,000 number is not accurate as many victims are afraid to report the crimes due to threats by perpetrators or the social stigma attached to sexual assaults.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, a string of violent sex attacks prompted outrage and nationwide protests.