The accused was suspected to be hiding in the jungle 50 km away from Harda. (Representational)

Harda:

Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district on Friday employed a night-vision drone to scour a forested area to catch a man accused of raping a five-year-old girl.

The drone with thermal image camera was procured from the Bhopal-based Madhya Pradesh Electronic Development Corporation, said district collector Aditya Singh.

“It has thermal sensors. Normal human body temperature can be set in it. With its help, it is easy to find humans in a dense area,” he said.

Authorities hit upon the idea of using a drone camera after the police could not find the accused despite raiding several possible hide-outs. The accused was suspected to be hiding in the jungle 50 km away from Harda.

The girl was found unconscious under Sirali police station area on September 23. She was taken to hospital where she regained consciousness, but medical examination found she had been sexually assaulted.

The accused, aged around 24, lured the girl to a deserted place after offering her snacks, police had said.

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