A 37-year-old man was arrested in connection with a rape-murder case after a four-year-old girl, missing for the last three days, was found dead in Thippagondanahalli area of Ramanagara district on Monday night, police said.
According to police, the incident took place when the suspect, who happens to be a relative of the girl, visited their house on July 20. He took the girl and another child to a local shop under the pretext of buying them ice cream. After returning the second child home, the man allegedly took the victim on his scooter without her parents’ knowledge or consent.
When the girl did not return home till late in the evening, her mother grew worried and went to look for her. She called the suspect who refused to share the girl’s whereabouts, following which the woman filed a missing person’s complaint with the Magadi police.
Based on the complaint, police launched a search operation and scanned the CCTV footages in the vicinity, which revealed the suspect’s movements near Thippagondanahalli. Later, the girl’s body was found in the area, leading the police to intensify their search for the suspect, who was later arrested from a hideout in Kalasipalya, Bengaluru, police said.
Magadi’s in-charge Inspector B.K. Prakash said the man has been booked under BNS Section 302 (murder), Section 135 (wrongful confinement), and POCSO charges.
{{/usCountry}}Magadi’s in-charge Inspector B.K. Prakash said the man has been booked under BNS Section 302 (murder), Section 135 (wrongful confinement), and POCSO charges.
{{/usCountry}}The girl’s body was sent for a post-mortem examination and later handed over to her family for the last rites on Tuesday, police said.