Damoh (MP), Jul 18: A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and brutalised by an unidentified man near Damoh railway station in the wee hours today, police said. Prima facie, police suspect the involvement of one person in the crime, a senior officer said. The accused inflicted injuries on the private parts as well as on rest of the body of the minor girl, who is stated to be in critical but stable condition, he said.

The girl was spotted near the railway station by a Railways employee who informed the police, the officer said. "The girl was raped by an unidentified accused in the wee hours today. She is in critical condition. We have formed teams to trace the accused," Superintendent of Police Vivek Agrawal said.

Police have registered a case under section 376 (Punishment for rape) of the IPC and under various provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The SP said the condition of the girl has been improved but she was shifted to Jabalpur for better treatment.

Madhya Pradesh has reported a string of incidents of sexual assaults involving minor girls in recent past. An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped and brutalised in Mandsaur by two men on June 26, triggering outrage. Both the accused were arrested.

Within days of the Mandsaur incident, a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 23-year-old man known to her family in Satna district. In another incident, a 14-year-old tribal girl was allegedly raped by four persons in Sagar district.

In Khajuraho, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by three minor boys, two of them her cousins. In Vidisha, a 14-month-old tribal girl was allegedly raped by her relative at his house on July 15.