india

Updated: Apr 28, 2019 12:19 IST

A six-year-old girl was allegedly murdered and then raped by a 28-year-old man on Friday afternoon in a village in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar.

The child’s body was recovered and the accused arrested on Saturday, senior police officials said.

According to preliminary investigations by a forensic team and a special operations group, the child’s murder preceded the rape, a press note released by the police said. The body has been sent for post-mortem.

According to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Janmejaya Khanduri, the girl and the accused were known to each other as they lived in the same village.

Married, has kids

The accused, who is married with two children, is a labourer. The murdered child’s father is also a labourer.

“The girl was playing with other village children, including the seven-year-old son of the accused who gave important clues to police.

“At around 3pm, the accused came there and lured the girl to go with him to a nearby field to sit under a tree,” he said.

“So far, it seems she was first killed and then raped. After the incident, he went home at around 4.30 pm and responded evasively when his wife asked him where he was in the afternoon,” Khanduri added.

The accused’s son gave important leads to police, which ultimately enabled the police to arrest him.

“As the boy was also among the children playing with her, the police spoke to him. He said his father approached the girl and asked her to go with him to a banyan tree, which she did as she knew him,” the senior superintendent of police said.

“Police then arrested him and during interrogation, he confessed to the crime.”

“It is a heinous crime. The accused has been booked for murder and rape under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Investigations are on,” Khanduri added.