35-year-old man arrested for rape and murder of 5-year-old girl in Odisha

The man allegedly lured the girl with the pretext of buying snacks.

Four days after the mutilated body of a five-year-old girl was found in a nullah in Dhenkanal district of Odisha, police on Tuesday said they have arrested a 35-year-old man who is distant relative of the victim on charges of rape and murder.

Police said the accused had raped the girl and then battered her to death. (Representative Photo/Getty Images)

The body of the girl was found in a nullah at Kharakhari village in Kankadahada block of Dhenkanal district on November 13, a day after she went missing.

Kamakhyanagar sub divisional police officer S Mallick said the accused Shankarshana Dehuri had raped and then battered the girl to death.

“The accused is a distant uncle of the victim and used to visit the girl’s house. On November 12 evening, he took the girl and another boy to a nearby place on the pretext of buying some snacks for them. After having snacks, he asked the boy to go while he kept carrying the girl in his arms. No one saw the girl after that,” said Mallick.

Police zeroed in on the suspect after questioning a number of shopkeepers at the village market and some others.

The girl’s body was found on the morning of November 13. During the interrogation, the accused confessed to have battered the child after sexually assaulting her, police said.