3-year-old girl kidnapped, sexually abused and killed by neighbor

NEW DELHI: A 34-year-old neighbour has been arrested by Delhi Police for sexually abducting, kidnapping and killing a three-year-old girl and then dumping her body in a swampy drain in southwest Delhi’s Kapashera area.

The arrested accused has been identified as Anil (34), a resident of Gali No. 9, Kapashera, New Delhi. According to police, Delhi Police received a disturbing PCR call at 8.51 pm on Wednesday evening.

The caller was identified as the victim’s mother, who reported that her three-year-old daughter, who was playing outside her house in Kapashera, had been abducted by a neighbor. The child was last seen wearing a Shiva Ji T-shirt and shorts.

Police immediately arrived at the scene and launched a search operation. The mother, who has been living in rented accommodation for five years, and the victim were identified as a three-year-old daughter. She claimed that Anil, a neighbour, had kidnapped the child at around 6 p.m.

Following the complaint, an FIR under Section 363 of the IPC was filed at Kapashera police station. The police launched an extensive search operation for the girl.

CCTV footage from the area showed that Anil went towards Ganda Nala with the girl at around 7:05 pm. He was caught returning alone at around 7:25 pm. Further technical investigation revealed that Anil then fled Delhi towards Sohna.

The police tracked his movements and made their way to him with his photo. Several buses and vehicles were checked along the route.

The suspect Anil was finally arrested at 11:55 pm in a Kanpur-bound bus. Due to the seriousness of the crime, Anil was immediately interrogated on the way back to Kapashera.

Initially, he denied any involvement in the kidnapping. However, during lengthy questioning, he confessed to killing the girl after sexually assaulting her and dumping her body in a swampy drain on the Gurugram-Kapashera border.

Anil led the police team to the drain, where a search operation began in the dark.

After more than an hour of searching in dense bushes and between piles of garbage, the girl’s body was recovered from the swamp area.

During this operation, Anil attempted to escape by snatching a policeman’s loaded service revolver and firing at the police team. In the ensuing confrontation, the police fired back in self-defense, injuring Anil. He was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

Crime scene and forensic teams were called to the location where the girl’s body was found. The body was examined by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the crime team.

Anil was arrested and is now in custody. A medical commission has conducted an autopsy on the young victim.