Cops reject reports on electrocution

On the evening of August 1, the girl went to fetch water from the electric cooler installed at the crematorium.

The Delhi police on Tuesday dismissed reports that the minor Dalit girl who was allegedly raped and murdered at a crematorium in the Purani Nangal village in south-west Delhi was not electrocuted.

Women sit next to a placard near a crematorium where people are protesting against the alleged rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in New Delhi. (REUTERS)

The police rubbished reports that appeared on social media on Tuesday, saying it was too early to conclusively say that the girl was not electrocuted, as mentioned in the FIR. Investigating officers said even though the water cooler had no current, the girl might have come into contact with a live wire near the appliance.

One senior officer, privy to the case details, said police got the cooler checked by electricians to probe if she was electrocuted by the appliance. “There was no current in the cooler. But it is possible, she may have touched a live wire between the cooler and the main switch. It is too early to say that she did not die of electrocution,” the officer clarified.

When contacted, advocate Jitendra Kumar Jha, representing the nine-year-old girl’s family, said, “It is now for the investigating agency to tell as to how the death happened, if not by electrocution, as claimed in the FIR.”

The accused allegedly told the child’s parents that it was better to cremate the body because if they informed the police the body would be sent for autopsy and the girl’s organs will be removed and sold by the doctors. The four then cremated the body. However, the girl’s mother suspected foul play and informed neighbours after which locals reached the crematorium; stopped the cremation and managed to retrieve charred remains of the girl’s body. The girl’s family then filed a complaint of rape and murder against the four suspects.

The medical board, which conducted the autopsy on the charred remains of the girl’s body, could not confirm if the child was raped.

Police said they would mention all this details in the charge sheet against the four men.