Assam: 43-yr-old arrested for alleged rape, murder of 13-yr-old girl

The victim went to a marriage ceremony along with her family on November 6 and went missing in the late evening

A 13-year-old girl, missing since Saturday, was found dead in a forest area in Assam’s Cachar district, police said on Wednesday adding that a 43-year-old neighbour of the victim has been arrested for allegedly abducting and killing her. Police suspect this to be a rape and murder case and medical examinations are going on, an official said.

Police said the victim’s 11-year-old brother identified the man who abducted the girl. (Representative Image)

According to the police, the victim went to a marriage ceremony along with her family on November 6 and went missing late evening. An official from the Joypur police station said that the victim’s younger brother, who is aged around 11 years, told the family members that a man offered chocolate to both of them but he refused to take it. “According to the boy, his sister accepted it and agreed to go with the man. He tried to follow them but the man threatened him and he came back. He later identified the man when the girl went missing,” the official said.

Sub-divisional police officer of Lakhipur, Dinesh Kumar told HT that the accused has confessed that he abducted the minor. He directed the police to the jungle where the dead body was thrown. But he is yet to confess about the suspected rape. “Just after the arrest, he confessed the crime and we found the dead body as well. It is suspected that he raped the victim and the truth will come out once we get the test reports. We are still interrogating him,” he said.

To be sure, a confession or disclosure statement of any person made before a police officer is not admissible as evidence before a court unless it is backed by other evidence. Only a confession before a judge is admissible as evidence against an accused.

According to the girl’s family members, they searched for their daughter on Saturday night.The next morning, their son told them about how his sister went with an elderly man. “The accused is known to us and our son said that there were more men with him. We suspect that they gangraped her before killing,” the family members said.

According to the police, no major external injuries were noticed on the dead body. “There are marks near her throat and it is suspected that she was strangled to death,” an official said.

In another incident, six minor boys were arrested in Karimganj district on Monday for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl and recording a video of the crime.

Karimganj’s additional superintendent of police (SP), Partha Protim Das said that the six children in conflict with law were arrested along with some evidence for being involved in the alleged crime.

“They are going through interrogation as per Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act and we are conducting sample tests etc as well. This is a sensitive issue and we can’t disclose everything,” he said.