Indian man arrested over rape of 10-year-old in Delhi

Sexual violence has topped the country's political agenda since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a bus

Indians protests against all-too-common gang-rapes in their country (Getty Images)

Indian police have arrested a man after the rape of a 10-year-old girl.

The girl was playing near her home in Delhi's Sultanpuri neighbourhood when bus driver Rakesh Kaushal is alleged to have taken her to his vehicle.

Then the 47-year-old, who lives in the area, is alleged to have raped her.

Police arrested Kaushal on suspicion of rape after the victim's parents reported the crime and a medical examination confirmed that she was sexually assaulted, the Press Trust of India reported.

Sexual violence has topped the country's political agenda since the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student on a bus, also in Delhi.

That case sparked outrage and widespread protest at the treatment of women in the country, which has seen a sharp fall in the numbers of foreign tourists, especially women, since the high-profile case hit the headlines.

And last week it emerged that another 10-year-old was allegedly raped two hours away from the capital. Her family are reportedly facing death threats in an attempt to force them to withdraw the complaint.

The Indian government has proposed a number of reforms to protect women, ranging from scrapping degrading medical examinations at police stations for rape victims and painting seats reserved for women on buses pink.

Delhi's transport minister Ramakant Goswami told the Hindustan Times: “Earlier, only the left row of the bus used to have reserved seats for women. With increased number of reserved seats, even the row of seats on the right side has seats for women.

“We have put stickers in the existing fleet but new buses will have pink-coloured seats for easy identification.”

The new buses will also come with built-in global positioning system devices and space to install web-cams or close circuit television to ensure that authorities know what is happening aboard the vehicles.