A 28-year-old man who allegedly sexually assaulted a minor girl was arrested on Thursday following a brief encounter with police in Delhi's Shahbad Dairy area, officials said. The accused was identified as Mohammad Akhtar, a resident of Shahbad Daulatpur. He sustained a bullet injury in his leg, the police officials said.

A five-year-old girl went missing around 7 pm on March 9 when she was playing outside her home, they said. The girl was brought home the next morning by a neighbour who said he found her nearby. The counsellor was called and counselling was conducted. Medical examination was also conducted and nothing adverse, including a sexual assault, was reported by the counsellor or in the medical report, a senior police officer said.

The girl's statement was recorded before a magistrate and she did not mention anything about a sexual assault in it, the officer said. On Saturday, the girl started having some medical problem and was taken to the hospital. The medical report stated that her hymen was torn, thereby indicating sexual assault, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Brijendra Kumar Yadav said.

Thereafter, a search for the accused was launched. On Thursday, the police received information that Akhtar was involved in the incident, the police said. The accused was intercepted at old Khera Prahladpur Road in Rohini's Sector-29. After seeing the police, he fired two rounds. The police fired four rounds and one bullet hit him in one of his legs, following which he was caught, the DCP said. Akhtar was shifted to the hospital and he is stated to be out of danger. One pistol, two empty cartridges and two mobile phones were recovered from his possession, the police said.

With PTI Inputs