Missing after 8pm, stray dogs help, body found at midnight | What we know about Ghaziabad rape-murder case

The 7-year-old girl was found in the basement of the under-construction building in Raj Nagar extension, nearly 5 hours after she went missing.

Lured with food, a seven-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and murdered by two people at an under-construction building in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar extension. The rape and murder case has shocked the nation, weeks after a similar incident took place in West Bengal's Baruipur, where a 12-year-old girl was raped and drowned.

A seven-year-old girl was found dead in the basement of an under-construction mall in Ghaziabad's Raj Nagar Extension. (Sakib Ali / Hindustan Times))

As reported by HT earlier, the police have arrested the two accused - one is a 22-year-old man, and the other is a 16-year-old boy.

Crime planned by a juvenile

Deputy commissioner of police Dhawal Jaiswal told HT that the crime was planned by the 16-year-old boy, who instigated the 22-year-old. The two accused also killed the girl to hide their identities.

Police added that the family of the victim was from Bihar and had been in Ghaziabad for work over the past couple of years. The family lived nearly 300 metres from the under-construction building, where they worked.

A frantic 4.5 hour search and help from stray dogs

We spotted her body around 12.30am. She had no clothes, her head and face were bloodstained, and her arm and leg were bent. After we informed the police, they took the body for an autopsy,” he told reporters at the Hindon mortuary.

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The 7-year-old's mother added that a few stray dogs in the area helped in the search for the girl. While the parents, neighbours and guard searched for the body, the mother told HT that one of the dogs "accompanying" them went towards the basement and stood still.

It was dark, but we went inside to search. A stray dog was ‘accompanying’ us. Seconds later, it went towards the basement and stood still. We noticed the dog and followed it to take a look. The body was right there,” the mother said.

After the girl was found, the parents were also able to find the house of the accused with help from locals, and around 1am the police were alerted of the crime and called.