NEW DELHI —Police arrested a second suspect Monday in the rape and torture of a 5-year-old girl and announced that the number of reported rapes in New Delhi had more than doubled since December, while molesting cases had risen sixfold.
The second suspect, Pradeep Kumar, 19, was arrested in the eastern state of Bihar, where the first suspect, Manoj Kumar, was found early Saturday morning. The two men are not related. Pradeep Kumar was arrested after being implicated by Manoj Kumar in the rape of the girl, according to Indian news reports.
Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar told a news conference Monday that the increase in the number of reported sex crimes in New Delhi was a measure of how much more seriously the police took such reports since the gang rape of a medical student in December had led to widespread protests and the enactment of a new rape law.
Protesters besieged police headquarters for the third day Monday, demanding the commissioner’s resignation.
