Ghaziabad: A seven-year-old girl was reportedly raped, murdered, and her body thrown from a building’s rooftop in Ghaziabad city on October 6. The Police authorities have arrested the suspect, a 27-year-old who is a relative of the victim.
Police said the incident took place on Friday night, and the body of the minor was recovered around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
According to the police, this horrifying event occurred late on Friday night, and the body of the minor was recovered around 2 a.m. on Saturday. The young girl had been residing at her maternal grandparents’ home, situated approximately 10 kilometres away from her parents’ residence, for the past 15 days. Notably, the suspect’s house is located adjacent to the grandparents’ residence in Ghaziabad’s city.
According to the report, the girl went missing late on Friday night. Her maternal uncle recounted, “It was about 10:30 p.m. when we started looking for her. We searched our terrace but could not find her anywhere.” Suspicion arose when some children reported that she had been called by a relative residing in the adjacent house. “Upon questioning him, he attempted to avoid questions. We contacted the police,” he said.
Police said that the suspect is a married man with children but his wife does not stay with him due to some marital discord.
The suspect, a married man with children, was among five individuals initially detained by the police. While interacting with the media, Nipun Agarwal, deputy commission of police (DCP) (city) said, “After thorough interrogation, one of them confessed to sexually assaulting the girl and then killed her when she threatened to reveal the acts to her family. He admitted that he threw the body on the adjacent terrace of the girl’s maternal grandparents and went back to sleep.”
Police discovered the girl’s slippers in the suspect’s room, along with a towel that likely contained crucial biological evidence. In their pursuit of building a strong case, forensic experts were called in to gather evidence. “The girl bore a deep injury mark on her throat, possibly inflicted by nails. After we discovered her body on the terrace, she was rushed to the hospital; however, doctors declared her brought dead. An autopsy will be conducted to determine whether she was strangled or smothered,” added DCP Agarwal.
The parents of the victim have filed a formal complaint with the police. The authorities are filing a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under relevant sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.