The body of an eight-year-old girl — missing since Tuesday night — was found in a drain in Krishna Colony’s Kali Basti of Uttam Nagar in West Delhi on Thursday. It is understood that the girl was allegedly raped and killed by one of her relatives, who took her to a nearby forested area not very far from her residence and dumped her body there after committing the grisly crime.
“We are verifying the age of the accused (in police custody) as his Aadhar Card states he is 1997 born though his school certificates are yet to be verified as his family alleges he is 17-year-old,” said DCP (West) Pushpendra Kumar.
However, the accused on Thursday confessed to his crime after being put on sustained questioning and told police that he raped and killed the girl in anxiety.
“The victim had gone missing on Tuesday as she was last seen at 5:30 pm, playing in the locality,” said the DCP adding, “A team of police officials were sent to search the missing girl after a call was made at around 10.45pm to the police control room by one of the neighbours of the girl’s.”
The name of the accused came to fore when the picture of the girl that was being circulated in the neighbourhood was identified by Sonu (22) - the family’s acquaintance.
“I saw the girl last time with the accused while he was going towards a Masjid, half-kilometer from the residence. The accused had also asked me for a cigarette,” Sonu told The Pioneer.
On being asked why he did not stop the accused, Sonu said, “Both the families are relatives and the accused used to play with the girl quite often. I thought the victim’s family will be aware of them going together.”
However, when the girl did not return, her family members were worried and they started looking for her. Meanwhile, Sonu intimated them that he had seen her going with the accused. They searched for her in the area and even at the place too where her body was found later on Thursday. Their neighbnour Pushpa Sharma informed the police control room following which police team was deployed to find her.
“We apprehended the accused from his residence at around 1:30 am on Wednesday and he was questioned at length,” said the DCP West.
The DCP said, “The accused was apprehended on Thursday morning but was allowed to go on Wednesday night on benefit of doubt. He was questioned again and finally confessed to the crime. His elder brother, Manu, called him over phone and later brought him to the police station.”
A local who fished out the body from the drain said the body was recovered by a few teenagers who went there to defecate. Also, police were informed about the incident.
“The girl had injuries marks on her face and chest and her clothes were torn off. As it what it seemed, the body was thrown in a muddy puddle of the pond,” said the local.
The girl’s family, including her father Guddu, mother Anita and two younger brothers Ashish and Sumon, hail from Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Both her parents work as a sanitation worker in Government school located in Vikaspuri’s Hastal area. The family of the accused is from Etah, UP.