A 16-year-old girl was found murdered inside her house in southeast Delhi's Sarita Vihar area. Police said that the victim's mother had accused her adopted son of being behind the killing.
The minor, identified as Ruksar, with her throat slit was found lying on a cot inside her house on Wednesday.
Her mother is a domestic help and around 10 years ago, the victim's mother had adopted Shan Mohammad, the accused, as her son. Since then, the three had been living together, according to the police.
"The victim's mother has accused Mohammad, 32, of killing Ruksar. She told the police that Mohammad is a liquor addict and often used to quarrel with her and Ruksar," said a senior police official.
"A case of murder under Section (302) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against him," said the senior police official.
According to Esha Pandey, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Southeast district, on Wednesday afternoon, a PCR call was received at Sarita Vihar police station regarding murder of a girl at Janta flats. When the police reached the spot, Ruksar was found lying dead on a folding cot in the room.
"During enquiry, the victim's mother told that on Wednesday morning, she left for work as usual leaving her minor daughter and her adopted son Mohammad at home. When she returned home, she found her flat was locked from outside. She called her son on the telephone to find out about her daughter's whereabouts but he gave a suspicious response," said the DCP.
The police said when they forced open the flat's door, Ruksar's body was found lying on the cot with an injury mark on her neck.Several teams were formed to locate the accused. After technical surveillance, he was apprehended on Tuesday while he was in process of fleeing to Uttrakhand.
"When the accused was interrogated, he told police that he was in a live-in relationship with the victim's mother since 2013. Mohammad is a liquor addict due to which the victim and her mother often used to quarrel with him, the DCP said.
Narrating the sequence of events, the accused told police that on Wednesday morning, he consumed alcohol even as Ruksar was at home busy having a telephonic conversation with a nearby relative over which an argument occurred between them, said the DCP.
Mohammad slapped Ruksar following which she also hit him. In a fit of rage, he took out a knife from the kitchen and slit her throat. He then locked the house from outside and fled from the spot, said the DCP.
The police said the weapon used in the commission of crime was also recovered from the accused.