Delhi minor dies due to accused kneeling on her chest after sexual assault

The report also noted multiple bite marks on her lips, neck, and chest, along with genital bleeding indicating sexual assault

The preliminary autopsy report of a nine-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted and murdered in Dayalpur on Saturday has revealed shocking details of brutality, with the cause of death attributed to internal bleeding due to “excessive compression” on her chest and abdomen – likely due to the accused pressing down on her chest with his knees, investigators aware of reports findings said on Wednesday.

The accused, residing on the second floor of a building, allegedly lured her into his flat under the pretext of returning keys he claimed he had dropped. (Representational image) (HT_PRINT)

The report also noted multiple bite marks on her lips, neck, and chest, along with genital bleeding indicating sexual assault and internal injuries consistent with violent restraint, the officer cited above said.

“…‘a combined effect of cardiac tamponade and haemorrhagic shock due to blunt force trauma to the chest and abdomen’…has been written as the exact cause of the girl in the autopsy report apart from the various injury marks that were mentioned in it,” the officer said, citing the report of the autopsy conducted at a government hospital.

A senior emergency department doctor, who asked not to be identified, explained that the likely cause of the girl’s death was the assailant’s knees compressing her chest with such force that it caused massive internal bleeding, leading to haemorrhagic shock where the body loses critical blood volume, followed by cardiac tamponade that prevented the heart from pumping blood to vital organs.

The grisly crime, which led to widespread protests by locals in the northeast Delhi locality, unfolded last Saturday evening around 7pm when the Class 5 student left her home to deliver ice to a relative. The accused, residing on the second floor of a building, allegedly lured her into his flat under the pretext of returning keys he claimed he had dropped. Once inside, he sexually assaulted her, and when she resisted and screamed, he pinned her down, placing his knees on her torso with such force that it crushed her internal organs. The assailant then stuffed her lifeless body into a suitcase, which was later discovered by her family members.

On Tuesday, police finally tracked the suspect to Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, and arrested him. During transit back to Delhi, the accused attempted an escape in Welcome’s Jheel Park area and attacked a constable with a concealed blade before being shot in the leg by an accompanying sub-inspector after ignoring warning shots. The accused is currently hospitalised under police guard.

During questioning, the accused told police he didn’t know the victim’s name despite being neighbours and admitted to becoming aggressive when she resisted the assault. He stated he was heavily intoxicated during the crime, but investigators remain skeptical of this claim, the people cited above said. Police noted his actions post-crime, including stuffing the body in a suitcase and attempting to remove it from the scene, showed calculated thinking inconsistent with severe inebriation.