Satna(MP): A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 23-year-old man known to her family who abandoned her at the spot after committing the crime last night in Satna district, police said today.

The incident came close on the heels of the alleged rape and brutalisation of an eight-year-old girl in Mandsaur by two men on June 26.

The accused, identified as Mahendra Singh Gaud, has been arrested, said Uchehara police station in-charge Rajesh Sharma.

He said Gaud was known to the family members of the girl and was living barely a kilometre away from her house in Parasmania village.

The incident took place in nearby Panna village last night.

"Gaud came to the house of the girl last night. As he is known to the family, the girl's father went out for some work. In the meantime, Gaud took the girl with him to nearby Panna village and raped her. He left her there in the injured condition and went back to his home in Parasmania village," Sharma said.

When the victim's father returned home, he did not find his daughter and Gaud at home, he said. "The man then gathered some villagers and went to the residence of Gaud and confronted him over the whereabouts of his daughter. Gaud then took them to the spot where he had left the girl, " the officer said.

The girl was then rushed to a nearby hospital from where she was referred to the district hospital in Satna, where she is undergoing treatment.

"She is out of danger now," Sharma said.

Gaud has been booked under various sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and further investigation is on.

Madhya Pradesh Congress president and former Union minister Kamal Nath has strongly condemned the incident.

He alleged that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has failed in curbing crimes against girls and women. "The state government has framed a law prescribing capital punishment to those found guilty of such heinous crimes. However, such crimes are still going up as officials are shirking their responsibility," he alleged.