Lured with food, a seven-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and murdered by two people in an under-construction building in Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad. The rape and murder case shocked the nation, weeks after a similar incident occurred in Baruipur, West Bengal, where a 12-year-old girl was raped and drowned.
As HT reported earlier, the police arrested the accused – one a 22-year-old man and the other a 16-year-old boy.
A crime planned by a juvenile
Deputy Commissioner of Police Dhawal Jaiswal told HT that the crime was planned by a 16-year-old boy, who instigated the 22-year-old. The two accused also killed the girl to hide their identity.
Read also | 7-year-old girl lured with food, gang-raped and murdered in Ghaziabad; 2 were arrested
The police added that the victim’s family was from Bihar and had been in Ghaziabad for work for the past two years. The family lived about 300 meters from the building under construction, where they worked.
Frantic search for 4.5 hours and help from stray dogs
According to the victim’s father, the girl went missing around 8pm on Friday and was found around 12:30am on Saturday.
We spotted her body around 12.30am. She had no clothes on, her head and face were covered in blood, and her arms and legs were bent. “After we informed the police, they took the body for an autopsy,” he told reporters at Hendon mortuary.
The mother of the 7-year-old girl added that some stray dogs in the area helped search for the girl. While the family, neighbors and guard were searching for the body, the mother told HT that one of their “accompanying” dogs headed towards the basement and remained motionless.
It was getting dark, but we went inside to look. We were “accompanied” by a stray dog. Seconds later, she headed downstairs and stopped in her tracks. We noticed the dog and followed him to have a look. “The body was there,” the mother said.
After finding the girl, the parents were also able to find the accused’s house with the help of local residents, and at around one in the morning, the police were alerted to the crime and were contacted.
