A 30-year-old man, arrested for the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Gujarat’s Anand district, was shot dead by police after he pulled out a hidden knife while in custody and attacked police personnel, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Anand Superintendent of Police JJ Jasani said Parmar was arrested in Bursad area on Sunday evening and was taken to the police station when the incident occurred. The police team stopped on the way because Parmar told them that he felt nauseous and had to vomit.
Ahmedabad Range Inspector General Raghavendra Vatsa said that as soon as the car stopped, he took out the hidden knife and attacked the police team. “Another policeman who intervened was also injured while trying to overpower him,” Vatsa said.
He added that the accused was repeatedly asked to surrender.
“When he continued to attack the policemen and tried to escape, the police first fired one shot in the air before opening fire in self-defence,” Vatsa said.
Jasani said the sub-inspector leading the police team shot him first in the foot. But when he lunged at him, the officer fired four more shots at the suspect.
Parmar was rushed to Shri Krishna Hospital in Karamsad, where he was declared brought dead. The sub-inspector sustained multiple injuries, while the second policeman sustained injuries to his hands.
Jasani added that this is the second time the suspect, Suresh Vithal Parmar, has been accused of rape. Parmar, a resident of Anand district, faced a rape and murder case registered in 2020 as well. However, he was acquitted of the charges due to lack of evidence in 2025.
In the latest rape case, Parmar was accused of kidnapping a four-year-old girl who was sleeping near the ticket booking window at Vasad railway station on the night of July 18. The girl was found dead on the railway tracks the next morning.
Investigators, who scanned CCTV footage at the railway station, spotted Parmar with the girl. He was identified and arrested based on input from local police informants. He lived alone, did not have a regular job and had been estranged from his parents and family members for several years.
