Representative image

LUCKNOW: A four-month-old baby girl from Hardoi who had come to Lucknow with her parents was killed allegedly after sexual assault on Sunday night in Madiaon.

The father of the infant has filed an FIR accusing his 30-year-old nephew of raping and murdering his daughter. While police have registered a case of rape and murder, they said rape would be confirmed after autopsy. The accused, Pappu was arrested on Monday night.

The baby and her parents had come to attend the wedding of a relative in Daudnagar area on Sunday. Around 7pm, while the baby was in the lap of her mother, the accused, her cousin, reached there. He said he wanted to play with her and took her away. Two hours later, around 9pm, the baby's family started looking for her but she or the cousin could not be found. This led to panic among the family members and other villagers also joined in the search.

After a while, villagers found the baby lying near the wedding lawn in an unconscious state. The accused was with her.

The parents of the baby rushed to the spot and identified the girl as their daughter and took her to Vivekananda Polyclinic, said Madiaon police. However, in the ensuing chaos, the accused managed to escape though he was arrested the next night.

Doctors referred the baby to KGMU trauma centre, where she was declared brought dead.

Deputy commissioner of police, north zone, Sarvashresth Tripathi told media that doctors at KGMU informed police on Monday morning. He added that rape would only be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives.

On the basis of the complaint filed by the victim's father, a case of murder, rape, kidnapping for murder, and other sections of POCSO was lodged. The parents of the victim said they did not wish to talk about the incident.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

