New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI): A teenaged "illiterate" boy was arrested from Bihar in the wee hours on Monday for allegedly raping a five-year-old girl in Delhi which he described as a "big mistake", two days after his friend was apprehended in the case.

Pradeep Kumar (19) was nabbed from his maternal uncle's house in Barahiya village in Bihar's Lakhisarai by a joint police team from Delhi and Bihar and sent to transit remand for 15 days by a court there, police said.

Pradeep's name surfaced in the case on the basis of interrogation of his friend and prime accused Manoj Sah (22) who was apprehended from his in-laws' house in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Saturday.

"We have got information from (our team in) Bihar that Pradeep has confessed to the crime. He is an illiterate," Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar told reporters in Delhi.

Pradeep said, "I have committed a big mistake" as he was escorted by police.

Police sources said they have now invoked the sections concerning gang rape in the case.

Bihar director general of police Abhayanand said Pradeep was produced before Lakhisarai chief judicial magistrate Vishnu Dev Upadhay who sent him to transit remand. He is being brought to Delhi.

A large crowd had gathered near the court and the police had a tough time in controlling it.

He had fled from capital on April 15 after allegedly raping the girl, fearing that she was dead after they strangulated her.

Though Kumar refused to divulge the sequence of events, police sources said Manoj told interrogators that Pradeep came to his house in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar on April 15 evening and they had consumed alcohol.

Manoj claimed that Pradeep insisted on bringing a girl to the house and he went out and lured the five-year-old girl living in the same building with a chocolate, sources said.

Manoj also told police that he did not sexually assault the girl and it was Pradeep who committed rape, they said.

He had also claimed that they fled from the house after strangulating her fearing that she will tell her parents about the crime they committed. They also thought she was dead, they said.

Superintendent of police of Lakhisarai district Rajeev Mishra, who interrogated him, said Pradeep "admitted" to his crime.

Pradeep belonged to Ahiyapur in Sheikhupura district of Bihar, additional director general of police (ADGP) of Bihar Ravindra Kumar said.

He left his native place for Delhi four years ago and he was working as a mason, he said.

He came in contact with Manoj in Delhi and their friendship deepened and they used to meet regularly.

In his native Sheikhpura, locals alleged that he was in the habit of harassing girls and was beaten up by residents many a time in this regard.

A senior Delhi Police official said once Pradeep is brought to Delhi, he will be confronted with Manoj to verify the claims made by the latter.

Anti-rape protests continue in Delhi

New Delhi, Apr 22 (IANS): Protests against the rape of a five-year-old here continued Monday with several women groups, student organisations as well as political parties coming together on the same platform and demanding strict measures to ensure women's safety.

Holding banners and placards, the protestors demanded the resignation of Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde. They also criticised Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Members of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took out a march to Parliament but were stopped at Pandit Pant Marg - about two kilometres away.

"Some 200 protestors were detained as they tried to break down the barricades on the road leading to Parliament House," said a police officer.

Members of "16 Dec Kranti", a group of youngsters, especially students, who are protesting at Jantar Mantar since Dec 22 following the gruesome gang-rape of a young woman in the capital, gathered outside the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where the traumatised girl is hospitalised.

Activists of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were also present at the AIIMS.

Several women's groups and student organisations like Students Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students' Association (AISA) jointly held a protest at Jantar Mantar while some women groups held protests outside Delhi Police headquarters.

"The police chief should resign as the repeated rapes in the Delhi prove that he is not fit for the job. We've had enough. Feeling secure and safe is our right and we will have it," Rashpal Kaur, Delhi state secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), told IANS.

Apart from NFIW, other organisations that were protesting at Jantar Mantar were All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), All India Progressive Women's Association (AIPWA) and student organisations like Student Federation of India (SFI) and All India students Association (AISA).

"The government has to answer... These are sad state of affairs in the capital city of the country. Those who are responsible for protecting us have failed and they should step down," AIDWA vice president Maimoona Mollah told IANS.

The protestors together broke down barricades put up by the police to thwart their march towards the Parliament House. The police also stationed water cannons as a precautionary measure, in case the protests turned violent.

There was also heavy deployment of police at India Gate, the scene of major protests following the Dec 16 gang-rape.

Three Metro stations in central Delhi were closed as a precautionary step.

The Central Secretariat, Udyog Bhavan and Race Course Road Metro stations were closed around 10.15 a.m. as a precautionary measure.

"We have been asked by Delhi Police to close the Metro stations till further notice as a precautionary measure," said a Delhi Metro spokesperson.

Scores of angry protestors Sunday stormed the barricades outside the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Many of them were detained briefly and let off later.