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

A two-and-half-year old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar area late on Monday night, with police booking and nabbing a 30-year-old

A two-and-half-year old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Ghaziabad’s Kavi Nagar area late on Monday night, with police booking and nabbing a 30-year-old man as the prime suspect in the case based on a complaint by the minor victim’s family.

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Investigators identified the suspect as Chandan Pandey, who worked in factory with the minor’s father. Police claimed that the minor’s father, Pandey and one other person were consuming alcohol before the incident, after which the suspect went to the house of the victim.

“The man came to our house and went upstairs. He then came down with my niece sitting on his shoulders around 8.51pm (this was captured in a CCTV). He then took the girl out saying that he wanted t buy her some treats from a local shop. later, when they failed to return for a few hours, the family launched a search. After searching for them for a while, we informed the police. During the search late at night, my mother finally spotted the man lying on a bed in a shop,” said cousin of the minor.

The family immediately nabbed the suspect and handed him over to the police.

“We kept asking him about the whereabouts of the girl, but he steadfastly refused to reply. He was then taken away by the police. Around 11.30am on Tuesday, the police baited him by telling him that he would be let off if he told them the whereabouts of the girl. At this, he told the police that he had left the girl in a nearby industrial area in a forested area,” she, added.

Family said that there were a bunch of huge iron sheets, used as raw materials in factories, that were stacked on the roadside in the industrial area, where the suspect allegedly violated the minor. The crime spot is around a kilometre away from the minor’s house.

“The suspect took the girl to the spot and allegedly raped and murdered her there. The spot is isolated and shielded from the gaze of passersby, thanks to the iron sheets that are stacked in the area. The body of the minor was sent for post mortem,” said the uncle of the victim.

Investigators said that they found three packets of namkeen and some currency coins, with which Pandey allegedly lured the minor. The suspect is a colleague of my brother-in-law (girl’s father) and they have both worked together at the same factory for past 10-12 years. Pandey used to often visit our house and was known to the girl,” he added.

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

Investigators suspect that the rape, murder might be linked to an altercation that the man had with the minor’s father around two years ago.

“We have registered an FIR based on complaint given by the family and are awaiting the post mortem reports of the victim. We have arrested the suspect and deployed teams for collection of forensic evidences,” said Kalanidhi Naithani, senior superintendent of police.