india

Updated: Sep 13, 2019 22:17 IST

A 14-year-old boy, believed to be the prime culprit in the brutal murder and suspected rape of a seven-year-old girl in Assam’s Sonitpur district, has been held on Friday along with his suspected accomplice.

The body of the girl carrying injury marks on the neck and her private parts was found on Thursday evening, said Kumar Sanjit Krishna, Superintendent of Police, Sonitpur.

According to preliminary investigations, the girl’s neighbours, the 14-year-old boy and the 25-year-old Alfred Soren called the victim and took her to a paddy field on Wednesday night.

“We suspect she was raped and then murdered,” said Numal Mahatta, the Additional Superintendent of Police, Sonitpur.

Mahatta said the victim was hit with a sharp weapon. “It appears that both the accused were under the influence of alcohol. The 14-year-old is the prime suspect. The victim had complained to her father about him on an earlier occasion as well,” he said.

The seven-year-old was alone at home with her sibling when the accused took her away. “Her father is an alcoholic and often comes home late while the mother lives with her parents,” Mahatta said. The victim’s father is a daily wager and the mother has some mental health issues.

A case of rape and murder has been registered. Police said more details will be known once the postmortem report is out.