Man arrested for rape, murder of cousin

A 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday on charges of raping and murdering his eight-year-old cousin on Saturday night, the police said.

A 19-year-old man was arrested Sunday on charges of raping and murdering his eight-year-old cousin on Saturday night, the police said.

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The incident was reported around 10pm on Saturday when the girl’s body was found in a hut near her house in an area that comes under the Sector 49 police jurisdiction. The body has been sent for an autopsy, the police said.

According to the victim’s parents, she had gone missing around 6pm.

“We had seen her going with her cousin in the evening and we suspected his role in her death,” said the girl’s father in his police complaint.

Police said that a call was made to the police helpline around 10pm when the family found the body after which a team was rushed to the spot.

“The body was sent for an autopsy, and based on the family’s complaint, the suspect was nabbed. Upon questioning, he confessed to the crime,” said Dharmendra Kumar Sharma, station house officer, Sector 49 police station.

Sharma said that the suspect lived in a separate hut. The girl’s parents work as daily wage earners, he said.

According to the police, preliminary investigation suggests that the suspect first raped her and when she started to raise the alarm, he suffocated her to death with a blanket. However, the autopsy report is awaited, they said.

The girl’s body was handed over to the family on Sunday, the police said.

The suspect was booked under sections 302 (punishment for murder), and 376 (1) (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“The suspect was arrested for the rape of his cousin. Necessary legal proceedings are being done,” said Akhilesh Kumar, additional commissioner of police.

The suspect was produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail, the police said.