Meghalaya teen held for missing 4-yr-old girl’s death, tells cops it was accident

SPVivek Syiem said a SIT constituted to probe the girl’s death would continue to investigate every aspect of the case to ensure that nothing is left out

SHILLONG: A 13-year-old boy has been taken into custody in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district in connection with the death of a four-year-old girl who was found dead 100 metres from her house on September 15, police said on Wednesday.

The Rynjah police received a complaint that the girl, who was playing near her house at 7:30am, was spotted missing around 8 a.m on September 14. (Shutterstock)

The boy has been sent to a juvenile home by the district’s Juvenile Justice Board.

The district superintendent of police Vivek Syiem said a special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the girl’s death will “continue to investigate every aspect of the case to ensure that nothing is left out.”

On September 14, the Rynjah police received a complaint that the girl, who was playing near her house at 7:30am, was spotted missing around 8 a.m. Teams of police personnel along with a dog squad and local villagers also tried to look for the girl but heavy rainfall in the region hampered the efforts. On September 15 evening, the girl’s father told the police that her body was found at a construction site about 100 metres from his home and filed a murder case

Police said the boy told investigators that he had taken the girl to the construction site on September 14. The boy said that he was cleaning his feet when he slipped, and ended up pulling the girl into a cavity filled with water. She drowned.

Police said the teenager panicked and placed a stone on her body, and later concocted a story about masked men in a black Scorpio trying to abduct the girl, police added.

The girl’s death, and the story of her attempted abduction, had shocked Shillong and beyond, sparking protests and condemnation from civil society groups, student unions and residents who demanded swift justice.

The 13-year-old became a prime suspect after three days of interviews and examination of the evidence.

Police said an autopsy indicated the girl died due to drowning and suffocation. It also confirmed that the girl hadn’t been sexually assaulted and there were no ante-mortem injuries. Her jewellery was also intact.

Police said the injury marks on the boy’s feet matched his account,

“The SIT has 90 days to file the chargesheet. We will continue to examine the antecedents of the boy and probe deeper into any other possible motives,” Syiem said.