Amritsar, February 28

A 16-year-old auto rickshaw driver has been apprehended for allegedly kidnapping and attempting to rape a 10-year-old girl in Majitha Road area here, the rural police said on Wednesday.

The incident came to light when the girl escaped from the accused and reached a slum on Majitha Road. After local residents informed the police, they apprehended the accused and seized the auto.

On Tuesday, the survivor and her 6-year-old brother had hired an auto rickshaw from Nangali to return to their home, a police officer said. “However, the auto driver took them to a vacant plot on Majitha Road area. He first dropped the boy, and then took girl towards bushes,” said Amrijit Masih, SHO of Kamboh police station.

“The girl ran towards a slum and raised an alarm,” said the SHO. The police also recovered the girl’s brother from the area.

A case was lodged under relevant sections the IPC against the accused, he said.