A 35-year-old labourer allegedly kidnapped and raped his three-and-a-half-year-old neighbour before dumping her in a pit in Delhi’s Sarai Rohilla on Monday, IANS reported. The Delhi Police arrested Birbal from his residence in Harijan Basti after an initial probe revealed that the missing child was last seen with the accused.

Police said the accused confessed to luring the child with the promise of chocolate and kidnapped her. He allegedly took her to an isolated area near Dayabasti station, where he raped and strangled her, before leaving her in a ditch to die, The Indian Express reported. The child’s father had lodged a complaint when he noticed that she was missing, The Times of India reported.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said, “Birbal dumped the girl in six-foot-deep pit as he saw her unconscious and thought she was dead. He fled the spot.”

A passerby heard the child’s cries and alerted the police, who took her to a hospital where she is undergoing treatment for the injuries she sustained from the assault.