Several people expressed outrage after the video showed the girl, semi-naked and bleeding, walking around but waved away by a man whom she approached for help.

A video of a 12-year-old girl walking around seeking help after being raped has sparked outrage across India over the refusal of her neighbours to offer help.

Many people expressed anger after CCTV footage showed the girl, semi-naked and bleeding, knocking door-to-door looking for help at a village in Ujjain district, in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

At one point in the video, a neighbour can be seen leaning on his door appearing to wave the girl away when she tried to approach him for help.

But police told local media that the girl, who walked around for more than two hours, was helped by some people. They said the minor was ultimately rescued by a local ashram official who took her to a private hospital where a medical examination confirmed she was raped.

Ujjain Police Superintendent Sachin Sharma told the press the girl was admitted in serious condition to a hospital and that a special team had been formed to investigate the case.

“Five people who came in contact with the girl are being questioned,” Sharma told ANI news agency Thursday, adding that the girl was “incoherent and could not initially give any details about her whereabouts”.

Police say they are reviewing other CCTV footage from the area to trace the route the girl walked before she got help.

Sharma said the girl had been reported missing from Satna city, more than 700km (435 miles) from where she was found, on Sunday.

She was helped by Rahul Sharma, whom media reports have described as a Hindu priest. He said the girl was bleeding when he found her.

“She could not speak. Her eyes were swollen,” the priest told news channel NDTV.

“I then enquired what had happened but she spoke in a language that I did not understand; I also gave her a pen and paper but she could not write anything either,” he told The Hindu newspaper.

He said he gave her some clothes and called the police, who took her to the hospital.

Police said in a statement Wednesday night that the girl’s injuries had been treated and that she underwent surgery.

The short CCTV video, which surfaced online this week, sparked condemnation from politicians and on social media.

The president of the New Delhi Women’s Commission, Swati Maliwal, denounced on X, formerly Twitter, the state of law and order in India and the lack of humanity in society.

Opposition leaders in the state also condemned the incident and criticised the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the safety of women. State BJP chief VD Sharma said police would take “strict action” and “the criminals would not be able to get away”.