India, Feb. 14 -- A four-year-old girl was raped and dumped in roadside vegetation near her home in Dabua, Faridabad, earlier this week, police said, adding that she remains in critical condition while the accused was arrested on Wednedsay.

The accused, 22-year-old Mohammad Javed alias Jabid, worked as a ragpicker in the area. He spotted the girl playing outside her house on Monday afternoon when he was passing through her neighbourhood.

He approached her and gave her Rs.5 to buy a packet of biscuits from a nearby shop. When she began eating the biscuits, he lured her, quickly lifted her into his arms and fled into the nearby bushes, where he raped her, said police.

During the assault, he clamped down hard on her nose and mouth with on...