Girl, 5, latest victim of sexual violence in India fights for life after brutal rape A series of brutal acts of sexual violence against women in India has led to nationwide protests in recent months. Picture: AP/Altaf Qadri Source: AP A GIRL of five is battling for her life after being kidnapped and brutally raped in the latest incident of sexual violence in India. The girl was attacked inside a locked room over a 48-hour period, police said, after being abducted as she played outside on Monday in a lower-middle class area of the capital New Delhi. We have now launched a preliminary inquiry into rape and attempted murder," Rajan Bhagat told AFP, adding a hunt was on to catch a family neighbour who is the main accused. The child was admitted to the intensive care unit of a city hospital on Wednesday and doctors said her condition was "critical" as news channels provided wall-to-wall coverage. There were bruises on her neck," R.N. Bansal, medical superintendent of a local government hospital, told NDTV news channel. The injuries to her neck suggested that the attacker may have tried to strangle her and left her to die in the room, he said. Doctors said the girl's genital area had been mutilated and that objects had been inserted inside her, causing serious internal injuries and infection. We are keeping her under constant observation. The next few hours are going to be very critical," Bansal said. The girl was found after a passerby heard her crying and alerted the police. The incident comes just months after India was shaken by the horrific gang-rape of a student in Delhi on a bus last year that triggered countrywide demonstrations and debate over the status of women and girls and their safety. The parents of the five-year-old girl, who was later moved to a top government hospital in the city, accused the police of being insensitive in their investigation. They were reluctant to register our complaint (that she was missing) when we approached them the first time. Then the police asked us to be content with the fact she was at least found alive," the father of the girl said. Scores of protesters gathered outside the hospital Friday where the child was admitted and shouted abuse at police for failing to investigate her disappearance properly. Women's rights activists condemned the attack, saying the injuries inflicted on the girl were shocking. This incident shows what kind of brutes do we have in society. Society is also responsible for this. It has become full of perverts," said Ranjana Kumari of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research.