Man arrested for raping and killing three-year-old girl in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A three-year-old girl was allegedly abducted, raped and strangled to death by her neighbour in southwest Delhi’s Kapashera area. He later threw the girl’s body into a swampy drain, an official said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Anil (34), was captured from a bus while he was on his way to Kanpur. Later, when policemen took him to recover the body of the deceased, Anil snatched their pistol and tried to escape but was shot by the police.

Sharing details of the sensational case, Rohit Meena, DCP (South West), said the abduction of a little girl by a neighbour was reported by the victim’s father from Kapashera. Police immediately rushed to the scene and started searching for the missing girl.

The victim’s family told police that they had been living in a rented apartment in Kapashera for the past five years. On May 22, their little daughter was playing outside their house. “At that time, a certain Anil, who lives in their neighbourhood, kidnapped the girl,” the family told police.

The police then filed a complaint under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Criminal Code and launched a large-scale manhunt to track down the girl.

“Police have taken video footage from CCTV cameras in the area. One of the cameras captured the accused Anil walking towards Ganda Nala with the girl at 7.05 pm. The same camera captured him returning alone without the girl at around 7.25 pm,” the senior officer said.

On further investigation, the police found that the accused Anil was leaving the city. “He was heading towards Sohna, so we immediately sent a team in that direction with pictures of the accused,” the officer said, adding that several buses and vehicles were checked on the route.

Finally, the suspect was arrested at around 11.55 pm in a bus bound for Kanpur, UP. Police questioned the accused Anil on his way back to Delhi.

“Initially, he denied having any role in the kidnapping. But after prolonged interrogation, he broke down and admitted that he had killed the little girl and dumped her in a swampy drain on the Gurugram-Kapashera border,” the DCP said.

The accused led the police team to the said drain; the police searched for the victim’s body in a huge swampy drain, surrounded by thick bushes and heaps of garbage. The search, which lasted for over an hour and was also carried out in the dark, led the police to the body of the deceased, which had been thrown into the drain.

The DCP said that when the police team was searching for the body, the accused Anil saw an opportunity to escape by snatching a “loaded” service revolver from a policeman.

He even fired a shot at the policemen, but they were not injured. In retaliation, the policemen fired at the accused and a bullet hit him. After that, he was taken to Indira Gandhi Hospital.

The police have registered an FIR under sections 363 (kidnapping), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) of the IPC and under section 6 of the POCSO Act and filed a separate FIR under sections 353 (assault or force to public servant) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.

Grabs the gun and shoots at police officers

While the policemen were searching for the body, the accused Anil saw an opportunity to escape by snatching a “loaded” service revolver from a policeman. He even fired a shot at the policemen, who were not injured. In revenge, the policemen shot at the accused and was hit by a bullet, after which he was taken to Indira Gandhi Hospital.