The priest at an ashram in Ujjain who helped a 12-year-old rape survivor has said he found the girl half-naked and bleeding near the gates on Monday morning.
Rahul Sharma told NDTV that he immediately covered the girl and called the police. He said that the girl had swollen eyes.
Sharma said he could not reach police when he dialled 100 so he contacted the Mahakal police station. The police arrived at the ashram in 20 minutes, he added.
The priest said that the scared girl tried to speak to them but they could not understand what she was saying.
The girl, who was referred from Ujjain in critical condition to a government hospital in Indore on Tuesday, is critical but stable after the operation, said an official of the medical education department. Specialist doctors are constantly monitoring her health, the official said.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra on Wednesday said that a special investigation team has been formed to probe the matter. An auto-driver has been arrested and 3 others have been detained so far.