Ghaziabad man rapes 4-year-old girl, beats her to death with a stone

Police said the man was in an inebriated condition when he picked up the girl ‘randomly’ from outside her house.

Two days after the body of missing four-year-old girl was found in Nandgram, Ghaziabad, her neighbour was arrested on Wednesday for her alleged rape and murder, police said, adding that the 24-year-old man had sustained bullet injuries in an exchange of fire with police at the spot of the crime.

According to her family, the girl had gone missing while playing with neighbourhood children outside their home around 6pm on Monday. (Photo for representation) (PTI file photo)

According to her family, the girl had gone missing while playing with neighbourhood children outside their home around 6pm on Monday.

During a search for her, the neighbour, identified as Gaurav Prajapati, allegedly had led the family to the spot 1km from their home where she was found. The family had accused him of rape and murder. Police had detained Prajapati the same night.

Ziauddin Ahmad, assistant commissioner of police (ACP-Nandgram), told HT on Wednesday that Prajapati had admitted to “raping and murdering the girl. The accused, in an inebriated state, randomly picked up the girl from outside her house”.

Ghaziabad deputy commissioner of police (DCP) of city zone, Dhawal Jaiswal, told HT that the accused had been formally arrested and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections pertaining to rape and firing at the police as well as relevant sections from the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Arms Act have been added to the first information report (FIR).

Earlier, the FIR lodged by girl’s father against him included BNS sections 103(1) (murder) and 238(a) (causing disappearance of evidence, or giving false information.

“We have CCTV footage showing the suspect taking the girl with him. The bloodstained clothes were found at the scene of the crime. The suspect murdered her by hitting her with a stone,” the DCP said.

The said Prajapati was taken to the crime spot on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday to recover blood-stained clothes. There, he “had hidden a country-made pistol. He took out the pistol and fired at the police team.

The police opened retaliatory fire, and the suspect sustained bullet injuries to each of his legs,” said the ACP.

The officer said Prajapati is stable and undergoing treatment at a hospital. No police personnel were injured in the incident.