A 12-year-old boy in India is in "critical condition" after being gang-raped and beaten, CNN reports.
Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Sain said in a video message that the attack was carried out by three men, all minors known to the victim, including a family relative.
The alleged attack occurred in the northeastern district of Silampur on Sept. 18, but was not reported until Sept. 22, according to police statements.
Two of the defendants have been arrested. "The three accused are from the same community, they were neighbors," Sain said, adding that one of the men was a relative of the victim.
They have not yet been charged.
The boy's parents said their son is in "critical condition" after he was allegedly attacked with a cane and brutally beaten with bricks.
Protests in India against high rates of sexual violence, usually against women and girls, have become commonplace in recent years.
In 2012, the gang rape and murder of medical student Nirbhaya (the pseudonym given to the victim, meaning "fearless") in Delhi prompted millions of women to call for harsher punishment for those responsible. According to court documents, Nirbhaya sustained horrific injuries after being raped and attacked with iron rods. She died two weeks after the attack in a Singapore hospital.
Nirbhaya's death brought attention to sexual violence in India and marked a turning point in the country with the introduction of new laws, including expedited processing of rape cases through the justice system and a revised definition of rape to include anal and oral penetration.
