Delhi Rape: Seven-Year-Old 'Attacked In School'

Hundreds of protesters have clashed with police after reports that a seven-year-old girl has been raped at a government school in northwest Delhi.

The Times of India newspaper said the attack had occurred in the Mangolpuri area of the capital.

The girl's parents informed police after the injured child was taken to hospital.

Dr Sanjay Kumar, who helped treat the girl, said she had injuries consistent with rape.

Angry mobs gathered at the hospital and threw stones at a nearby bus, shattering its windows.

Protesters hurled stones at police, who had cordoned off the road and used batons to break up the demonstration.

After several hours the crowd dispersed.

"The protesters were angry over the assault on the little girl and were demanding that police act against the culprit," a police official said.

A Delhi police spokesman said police had registered a rape case and were questioning teachers and security guards at the facility, run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit called the attack "shameful".

"Rape inside a school is a shocking incident. It is shameful that it happened," she said.

India has been gripped in recent months by a national debate over the treatment of women and girls and their safety.

Last month three sisters , aged six, nine and 11 were raped and murdered before their bodies were dropped in a village well.

In December a 23-year-old medical student was gang raped and attacked on a bus in Delhi. She died 13 days later after being flown to a hospital in Singapore.

Six men, including a 17-year-old, have been charged with her murder.