GREATER NOIDA: A two-year-old girl whose body was found in a field near a temple two days ago was allegedly throttled to death by a 12-year-old boy who had tried to assault her sexually, police have said.

A murder case has been registered against the boy and he has been sent to a juvenile home. The girl’s body was found on Wednesday morning, around 14 hours after she had strayed away from a neighbour’s house in a village in Noida Extension.

The girl’s body had severe injury marks on the face, neck, and back. Her right eye was also damaged, suggesting that she had been hit with a brick. Police said the boy had told them during questioning that he had seen the girl playing outside the neighbour’s house on Wednesday and had taken her to the deserted field near a village temple. He had tried to assault her, the police said, but the girl started crying. Fearing the girl’s cries would attract villagers, he allegedly hit her repeatedly with bricks and throttled her to death. A medical report hasn’t confirmed rape.

Akhilesh Tripathi, the SHO of Bisrakh police station, said a case of murder had been registered. “A police team visited the village and questioned local people. We scanned CCTV footage from a house in which the boy was seen taking the child away from where she was playing,” he said.

Villagers said the boy was addicted to mobile phones and watched porn sites through the day. The girl’s parents are daily-wage labourers.

“We have registered a case of murder against the accused. He was produced before the Child Welfare Committee and sent to a juvenile home,” Tripathi said. The juvenile’s father works as a house painter while his mother is a homemaker. They live in the same village as the girl.

The girl’s father had filed a complaint at Bisrakh police station and named his sister-in-law and another relative for murdering. However, police said that they found the two named persons had no role in the murder.

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