Drug addicts gangraped 7-yr-oldbefore murdering her, say police

The local police have arrested two drug addicts for allegedly gangraping and murdering a 7-year-old girl, whose body was found at Jagirpur village of Meharban area on June 9.

The accused have been identified as Manoj Kumar, 20, and Mukesh Kumar, 25, natives of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh. They work in a dying factory as drivers and live in a rented accommodation on Tajpur Road.

Police have seized the auto in which the accused ferried the victim and also recovered blood-stained clothes from the crime spot, following information provided by the accused.

Giving details about the arrest, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) crime Manjit Singh Dhesi said a special investigation team (SIT) was formed to investigate the case after recovery of the body.

“The police scanned the CCTV cameras installed outside factories of the areas and questioned several people captured in the footage. The accused were also captured in the footage but had stopped coming to work after June 6, following which police started zeroing in on them,” the ADCP said.

“On Thursday, the police arrested both of them from Tajpur Chowk and they confessed to their crime during interrogation,” he claimed.

The ADCP said the accused worked at Jai Mata Dying factory in Jagirpur area and had come to Kanta Fabric Store at Guru Nanak Dev Colony to load clothes on June 6.

“There, they spotted the seven-year-old girl, who was going to meet her father, who worked at a factory in Guru Nanak Dev Colony. The accused lured her with biscuits, sweets and a ride in auto, before taking her to a grassland where they gangraped her at knifepoint,” Dhesi claimed, adding that they then smothered her to death and fled the spot.

On the other hand, victim’s parents filed a missing report at Salem Tabri police station on June 7 when the girl was untraceable.

The victim's naked body was found on June 9 by a villager who was grazing cattle at Jagirpur near Meharban village. Stray dogs had eaten part of the body

The Salem Tabri police had registered a case of rape and murder against unidentified accused after an autopsy report confirmed rape.

The ADCP said the police were also questioning the accused about two similar cases in which minors were raped and killed.