Condition of 5-yr-old MP rape victim worsening, say doctors

, April 24: The condition of five-year-old

victim from Seoni district in

further deteriorated on Wednesday and she is sinking, doctors attending on her at a private hospital here, said. "Her condition had worsened yesterday as she was not responding to treatment and today she is sinking," Chief Hospital Administrator Dr Ravi Mannadiyar told reporters here.

Doctors had planned to conduct an 'Apnoea' test on her to ascertain whether or not the damage to her brain due to suffocation was irreversible. It is basically a test to check if a person is brain dead. It assesses the functioning of the brain stem which is responsible for vital functions like breathing, they said. However, the test was postponed for Wednesday so that it could be carried out after her vital parameters stabilise.

The minor from Ghansaur town, who is battling for life, was allegedly raped by Firoz Khan on April 17 and later dumped on a farm land. Her parents found her next morning there and rushed her to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur for treatment. Later she was airlifted to Nagpur on April 20 night for treatment.

The 35-year-old accused, working in Jhabua Power Plant Limited in MP, was arrested on Tuesday from Hussainabad area of Bihar's Bhagalpur district, where he was hiding after committing the crime. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti and State Home Minister Uma Shankar Gupta had visited the girl in the hospital to enquire about her health.

PTI