On Tuesday night, when the village was ushering in the New Year, a four-year-old Adivasi girl from Koya tribe was abducted from her house and raped. The incident took place at Mahamutharam mandal in Jayashankar Bhupalapally district of Telangana.

The police have identified a 40-year-old man, who is reportedly a distant relative of the girl from the neighbouring village, as the accused. According to the police, the accused is known to the family, used to frequently visit the girl’s house. “He often sleeps in their house,” the investigating officer told TNM.

On the night of the incident, the accused was staying with the family. He abducted the girl from her house while she was sleeping with her mother. The accused, who was allegedly in an inebriated state, took the girl to the village outskirts, raped her and left her there.

Some locals in the area found the girl lying unconscious. They soon rushed her to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial hospital in Warangal. “Doctors conducted the medical check-up and informed that the girl’s health condition has stabilised now,” said the Investigating Officer.

When the accused abducted the survivor, both her mother and grandmother were in the house. “The girl was sleeping right next to the mother, but since both the mother and grandmother were in deep sleep, they did not realise that the girl was abducted,” the IO said.

After taking the girl’s statement, the police registered an FIR. However, the accused is still at large and efforts are on to detain him. “We have formed eight teams and are conducting searches in all the villages of the mandal. We will detain him soon,” said the police.