Patna, Apr 25 (IANS): A 50-year-old man was arrested Thursday in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district for allegedly raping a six-year-old girl. The incident triggered angry protests in the area, a police official said.

"Police arrested Qamrul Hoda, a vehicle mechanic, on suspicion of raping the child. He had been absconding after he raped the child in a village under Motipur police station in Muzaffarpur Wednesday evening," district police official Anoj Kumar said.

Kumar said Hoda found the girl playing near his shop, and attacked her.

"The victim told her mother about the incident," the police officer said.

According to police, the child was admitted to a hospital, crying in pain, as she was grievously injured in the sexual assault, the police official said.

The victim's parents run a roadside tea shop.

In another rape case, police arrested a youth, Raju Rishideo, who allegedly sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in a village under Alamganj block in Madhepura district.

In the last four days, at least half a dozen cases of rape and gang-rape have been reported in the state.