Gurugram: Minor held for sodomy, murder of 8-year-old boy

The police on Sunday apprehended a juvenile for allegedly sodomising and murdering an eight-year-old boy, over 45 days after the boy’s naked body was found with multiple injuries in a vacant plot near his house in Naharpur village, Manesar. The police said that since the alleged murder, the juvenile, aged at least 15, had been staying at his house, which is located at a distance of about 150 metres from the crime spot.

According to the police, the juvenile is a resident of the neighbourhood and often used to help his father, a vendor, with his work. In the past few years, the juvenile had started consuming narcotics and had started hanging out with a group of delinquents. The juvenile told the police that he was ‘physically attracted’ to the boy, with whom he was acquainted with, and found him ‘attractive’.

Tracing the events of January 2, the day the boy went missing, the police said around 9pm, the juvenile lured the boy with the promise of taking him out for a plate of chowmein. The boy was playing a game of marbles near his house when the juvenile overheard another boy offering him five pieces of marbles if he agreed to complete an errand.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), crime, said the juvenile then led the boy to a secluded area, where he tried to sexually assault him.

“When the boy resisted, he hit his head with a brick and the boy fell unconscious. He then disrobed the boy and sexually assaulted him. When the boy started yelling, he hit him at least thrice with bricks until he died. He dragged his body to a vacant plot and placed a slab on his legs to ensure that he could not move. He then ran from the area,” the ACP said.

The police said after the alleged murder, the juvenile went to his house, which is close by, and went to sleep outside. His father woke up in the middle of the night and asked him to shift to his room.

After the boy’s family reported him missing at Manesar police station, several police teams searched the area on January 2 night, but could not find him. On the afternoon of January 3, the boy’s body with injuries on his face, head, and chest was found in a plot near the liquor store. His clothes were found about 80 feet from his body and a subsequent autopsy confirmed sexual assault.

During the probe, the police had recovered a 10-minute CCTV camera footage, in which someone could be seen holding the boy’s hand and leading him through an alley, but the footage was hazy and the juvenile could not be clearly identified.

Satyender, station house officer (SHO), Manesar police station, said that police scoured through footage from multiple CCTV cameras and questioned people in the area to zero in on the suspect.

“In the probe, it was found that the juvenile had visited the area near the crime scene several times after the incident and spoken to some vendors, which aroused our suspicion. He has a distinctive walk, resembling a limp, which was corroborated through the footage. After he was identified, we questioned his family, who confirmed that he was out at the time of the incident,” the SHO said.

A police officer privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said that during questioning, the juvenile started trembling and confessed to the crime.

“Since the alleged murder, he had kept to himself and not spoken about the incident to his family. The day after the murder, when several police teams were circling the village, the juvenile stayed back at his father’s shop. He kept working as he was scared that the police might question him,” the police officer said.

The police said the juvenile was produced in a district court and sent to an observation home in Faridabad.

“The exact age of the juvenile is being verified. We have sought his original documents, which are in Bihar,” ACP Sangwan said.