Police arrest man suspected of raping and killing minor in Bhopal

The accused who is as labourer lived as a tenant in the neighbourhood of the victim in a slum in Bhopal.

Published on: Jun 10, 2019, 18:57:15 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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The Madhya Pradesh police on Monday said they have arrested the mains suspect in the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl whose body was recovered from a sewer on Sunday morning, hardly 20 meters away from her home in Bhopal.

People stage a road blockade protest on Monday over the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in Bhopal. (ANI)

The girl had gone missing from her home in a slum on Saturday night.

The suspect, Vishnu Prasad, a labourer, lived as a tenant in the neighbourhood of the victim in the slum.

Deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, Irshad Wali said, “Vishnu was arrested from a bus stand of Khandwa district, 271 km south of Bhopal.”

“Vishnu, who got the rented accommodation with help of the victim’s father, accompanied the father of the victim in searching the girl till 3 am on Sunday. Around 3 .30 am, other people of the locality, who were also searching the girl, got back home to rest. It was when Vishnu dumped the body in the sewer and fled from the spot,” said Wali.

In the morning, police and forensic teams found the victim’s broken bangles and blood stains in Vishnu’s house. The Bhopal police then formed 20 teams who were sent to different locations to nab him.

Earlier on Monday morning, local residents and family members of the victim staged a chakka jam demanding arrest of the accused. A heavy police force was deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.

On Sunday, the police administration suspended seven policemen including an assistant sub-inspector for dereliction of duty after the girl’s family complained that they did not act promptly when they reached the police station at about 8 pm on Saturday.

The victim’s uncle alleged that despite complaint on Dial 100, police did not come to their home.

“Some police personnel came at night after intervention of a local corporator and instead of showing seriousness they demanded chairs to sit and water to drink. They asked the family members to go to bed saying the girl would return by herself or she might have eloped with somebody,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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