(CNN) -- While a 5-year-old victim of an alleged rape recovers in a New Delhi hospital, India's prime minister admits that his country has "vast improvements to make" when it comes to "the safety, security and status of women in our society," and protesters are taking to the streets of the Indian capital.
The little girl is stable, conscious and alert, her doctor, D.K. Sharma, said Sunday.
The girl's neighbor, who allegedly raped her, was arrested in Bihar state in eastern India, then brought to New Delhi in police custody, city police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said. The suspect is expected in court Monday and will not be eligible for bail, Bhagat said.
Indian police say the suspect abducted the 5-year-old last Sunday, locked her in his house and brutally raped her repeatedly before she was found semiconscious Wednesday on the ground floor of her building.
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Activists and supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party protest against the rape of a 5-year-old girl in Hyderabad on Tuesday, April 23. Demonstrations have taken place across the state since a man was arrested in the rape of the girl in New Delhi. There have been high-profile assaults in India since December, when a woman was gang raped on a bus. See photos of outrage over the sexual assault in December.
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Doctors said they had to remove foreign objects, including candle pieces and a small bottle, from the girl's genitals.
The assault came just four months after a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was gang raped in a moving bus, triggering seething protests in India. She later died at a Singapore hospital.
Criticized for what was seen as a slow response to the savage December attack, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quick to issue a statement this time, calling the act "shameful."
Sunday, in a follow-up statement, Singh said, "The gruesome assault on a little girl a few days back reminds us once again of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society."
Protests have swept through New Delhi since Friday. Many demonstrators are members of a political party of a leading anti-corruption activist, Arvind Kejriwal.
Outside the prime minister's residence Sunday, nonviolent demonstrators conducted a sit-in. Video from CNN affiliate CNN-IBN showed police removing the protesters.
As the nation's media ran footage of a police officer slapping a female protester outside a hospital Sunday, Singh ordered strict action against the officer and anyone else who roughed up demonstrators. The offending officer was suspended, Bhagat said.
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CNN's Harmeet Shah Singh contributed from New Delhi and Aliza Kassim from Atlanta.
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Indian youths stand in front of a banner with the colors of their national flag in a silent demonstration in Hyderabad on April 23.
Activists burn an effigy of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit during a protest in front the landmark of Red Fort in New Delhi on April 23.
Activists protest in New Delhi on Monday, April 22.
A woman covers her mouth with a black cloth during Tuesday's protest in New Delhi.
Activists shout slogans after being detained following a protest in New Delhi on April 22.
argue with Indian police outside the residence of Sonia Gandhi, chairwoman of the United Progressive Alliance, in New Delhi on Sunday, April 21, at a demonstration against the alleged rape of a 5-year-old girl.
An Indian protester waves Indian currency toward police at a demonstration on April 21. Protests have swept through New Delhi since Friday. Many demonstrators are members of a political party of Arvind Kejriwal, a leading anti-corruption activist.
Security officials watch an activist shout slogans outside Gandhi's residence on April 21.
Indian protesters shout slogans near the India Gate monument in New Delhi on April 21.
Indian protesters stop traffic in front of police headquarters in New Delhi on Saturday, April 20.
Protesters scuffle with officers near police headquarters on April 20.
A man threatens officers in front of police headquarters on April 20.
Indian protesters shout slogans against the government and New Delhi police outside a hospital in the city on Friday, April 19.
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