Mandsaur, Jun 29: One more person was today arrested in connection with the abduction and rape of an eight-year-old girl here on June 26. Asif (24) was held from Madarpura locality of the city, after Irfan alias Bhaiyu (20), arrested on Wednesday night, named him as his accomplice in the heinous crime, said additional superintendent of police S S Kanesh.

Asif, a construction worker, admitted to raping the girl, Kanesh added. He was booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Further investigation was on, the ASP said.

The minor was abducted while she was waiting for her father outside her school on Tuesday. After being raped, the accused slit her throat with a knife and left her to die, police said.

Following a complaint by the victims' parents, she was found lying unconscious in bushes in the Laxman Darwaja area. Medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, they said.

Doctors yesterday said that she was undergoing treatment and was out of danger. Earlier today, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan condemned the incident and said that rapists were a "burden on the earth" and did not deserve to live.