Ghaziabad man held for rape, murder of 2-year-old baby girl

On the day when the district officials were busy spreading awareness on Uttar Pradesh government’s ‘Mission Shakti’, dedicated to women’s safety, a 30-year-old man allegedly raped and murdered a two-and half-year-old baby girl of his colleague on late Monday night. The cops said that based on the complaint filed by the family, they have arrested and booked the suspect under sections for rape and murder of the Indian Penal Code.

The gruesome incident took place at a locality under the jurisdiction of Kavi Nagar police station area on Monday night when the girl’s father, the suspect, Chandan Pandey, and one other person, were having drinks nearby after which the suspect went to the victim’s house.

“The suspect came to our house and went upstairs. He then came down while the girl was sitting on his shoulders. It was about 8.51 pm and this was captured in CCTV footage. He then took the girl saying that he was taking her out to a local shop. All the family members launched a search when he did not return. Later, we informed the police. During the search late night, my mother spotted a man who was lying on a bed at a shop. When she went near to him, she found that it was the suspect,” said a cousin of the victim.

The suspect was nabbed and handed over to the police.

“Everyone tried to ask him the whereabouts of the girl but he did not reply. He was then taken away by the police. Around 11.30 am on Tuesday, the cops lured him on pretext of letting him off on the condition of telling them the girl’s location. He then told that he left the girl at a nearby industrial area among a thick growth of trees,” the cousin added.

The scene of crime is near the transport department office in Bulandshahr Industrial Area. The site is adjacent to a road where huge iron sheets, used as raw material in factories, were stacked up on the roadside. The scene of the crime is stated to be about a kilometre away from the victim’s house in an isolated patch which hardly witnesses any commuter movement during night.

“The suspect took the girl to the spot. It is such a place that any passerby would not be able to spot what was happening behind the stack of iron sheets. The police found the body of the girl and immediately asked for a cloth. Thereafter, the police covered her body and left immediately. They took her for postmortem,” said the victim’s uncle.

“At the scene of the crime, we found three packets of namkeen (snacks) and some coins, which he probably gave to the girl to lure her. The suspect is my brother-in-law’s (girl’s father) colleague and both work at the same factory for past 10-12. He often visited our house and was also known to the girl,” he added.

The cops said that based on the complaint of the family, they registered an FIR under IPC section 376ab (punishment for rape on woman under twelve years of age) and 302 (murder), besides levying provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) at Kavi Nagar police station.

The cops said that the suspect has so far not revealed any motive behind the incident. They added that there was some altercation between the suspect and the victim’s father about two years ago.

“We have registered an FIR based on the complaint given by the family and awaiting postmortem reports of the victim. The FIR is registered for rape and murder. The suspect is a colleague of the victim’s father and also visited their home. The family said that he took the girl from the house and have also alleged rape. We have arrested the suspect and also deployed teams for collection of forensic evidences,” said Kalanidhi Naithani, senior superintendent of police.

On late Tuesday night, the Ghaziabad police, while confirming the case of murder and rape, issued a statement stating, “The postmortem report of the victim stated that the cause of death was asphyxia due to antemortem throttling. Also, the postmortem report indicated evidence of rape.”

The suspect is stated to be aged about 30 years and married. The victim’s family is stated to be native of Sitamarhi in Bihar.