Nine-year-old girl found murdered, rape suspected
Police said that the minor’s body was found stuffed in a gunny bag in a steel box from a suspect’s house
A minor (9) girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Bihar’s Gopalganj district on Tuesday evening.
The incident occurred around 130 kilometres from the state capital Patna in a village, which is close to the Uttar Pradesh (UP) border and is marooned due to Bihar’s annual flood woes.
Police said that the minor’s body was found stuffed in a gunny bag in a steel box from a prime suspect’s house. The body was recovered from the house of the suspected accused Jaikishor Shah that is located in the district’s Bakhraur village under the jurisdiction of Sidhwalia police station and about 200 metres from the victim’s place.
Manoj Tiwari, superintendent of police (SP), Gopalganj, said the suspected accused Shah has fled his native village after the incident. “We are trying to arrest the accused. We hope to make a breakthrough soon,” said the SP.
Preliminary investigation suggested that the minor was strangled to death, as her neck bore injury marks, he added.
The victim’s relatives said she had gone to a house in the neighbourhood around 3 pm on Tuesday to play with a friend. The family members informed the police after she did not return home on time.
The worried family members along with fellow villagers started looking for her in the neighbourhood and stumbled upon Shah’s house that was locked from outside. They suspected foul play and broke into the house. Soon, they noticed a steel box with blood stains.
They opened the box and found her body stuffed in a gunny bag. The victim’s father has alleged that Shah, an alcoholic, is the prime suspect for his daughter’s rape and murder.
“We have registered a case under Section 376 (rape), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, against Shah and others,” said Ranjit Paswan, station house officer (SHO), Sidhwalia police station.
Earlier on June 15, a class IX student was gang raped and murdered in Gopalganj district. The incident had occurred under the jurisdiction of Barauli police station area in the district.
Later, two youths were arrested in connection with the gang rape and murder of the teen ager.
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