Thiruvananthapuram: A nine-year-old girl, who was at Karakonam Medical College Hospital to care for her ailing father, was sexually assaulted by a septuagenarian patient from a nearby ward.

The girl had accompanied her grandmother to the hospital, where her father had been admitted for a week. Tragically, she had to endure a horrifying ordeal.

The accused, 74-year-old Varghese, approached the girl while her grandmother was away buying medicines. Hospital staff and others rushed to the scene upon hearing the girl's cries.

Varghese was taken into custody by Vellarada police.