Main accused held in Loni murder case

Two days after a 16-year-old girl was found burnt inside her house at New Mustafabad in Ghaziabad's Loni town, police on Thursday arrested one of her neighbours for allegedly raping and killing her. Peeyush Khandelwal reports.

Two days after a 16-year-old girl was found burnt inside her house at New Mustafabad in Ghaziabad's Loni town, police on Thursday arrested one of her neighbours for allegedly raping and killing her.

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According to police, the accused allegedly entered her house on the night of the incident, raped her along with another man and then set her afire.

The ghastly incident came to light on October 30 when the minor was found burnt in the verandah of her house. Although her family suspected it to be a rape case and pointed fingers at four local boys, police claimed the initial post-mortem report did not indicate any sexual assault.

The accused, 22-year-old Firoz, has revealed that he was friendly with the girl and spoke to her at 9.53pm on the night of murder. Taking her into confidence, he entered her house late night while her parents had gone to Meerut.

"While the two were present inside the house, Firoz's accomplice watched them from beneath the main door. He entered the house from the terrace and forced the girl to get physical with him. While the two men got physical with the victim, she fainted and did not regain conscious for long," a senior police official said.

After the girl fainted, the second man, Gulzar, panicked and fled from the spot while Firoz allegedly set her afire and escaped, police said. Officials said the girl's screams could not be heard by neighbours as a music party was going on nearby.