A 19-year-old man was arrested for kidnapping and murdering an 8-year-old girl in Delhi, attempting to disguise it as suicide. Protests ensued for justice.
A 19-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly kidnapping and murdering an eight-year-old girl, whose undressed body was found tied by the neck to a window grille in an abandoned building inside the Shankar Vihar Military Station in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar, after what appeared to be an attempted rape, police said.

Investigators said that the accused first strangled the victim and then tied her body by the neck to a window grille using her pyjamas in an attempt to pass off the death as suicide.

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Senior police officers aware of the case said that the suspect was arrested on Tuesday afternoon, adding that he was a neighbour of the victim’s family and that both lived in the servants’ quarters in the residences of Indian army officers in the area.

The case came to light on Monday night when the girl did not return after leaving home to play outside at around 6pm. Officers said that police, the girl’s family, locals and army officials looked for the girl for nearly seven hours, during which the suspect offered his assistance in the search operation.

The girl’s parents and the suspect work as house help at the official residences of Indian army officers, they added.

The suspect first strangled the victim and then tied her body by the neck to the window grille using her pyjamas to pass it off as a case of suicide, they added.

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He was nabbed from the locality after authorities scanned CCTV footage and found that he was seen leading her away from her house.

Police said that the suspect claimed he only attempted to rape her, but the extent of the assault will only be clear once the victim’s autopsy report comes out.

“Although the accused said that he tried to rape the girl and killed her by strangling her, we are waiting for her autopsy report to confirm sexual assault and the exact cause of death. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections of murder, along with sections under the Pocso Act, have been added to the first information report (FIR),” said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named.

Giving details of the crime, the officer said that the police control room received a call at 1.11am on Tuesday regarding the missing girl. The call was then transferred to Vasant Vihar police station, a case of kidnapping was registered and police launched an investigation.

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“The team spoke to the girl’s family, who said she was last seen playing outside their house around 6pm. Initially, the family, along with neighbours and army officials, searched for her in the neighbourhood. When she could not be found, the family filed a missing person complaint. The search continued till Tuesday morning. Around 9am, the girl’s semi-naked body was found tied to the window at an abandoned building. The girl’s payjamas were used to hang her,” the officer added.

A second senior officer, who also requested anonymity, said that the vacant building where the crime happened was nearly 400 metres away from the girl’s residence. A few officers’ flats were 20-30 metres away from the abandoned building. Investigators spoke to locals and scanned the CCTV cameras installed nearby, which eventually helped identify the suspect.

“In one of the footage, the girl was seen walking with him. He was taken into custody, interrogated, and confronted with the CCTV footage after which he confessed to the crime. He said that he lured the girl to the abandoned building and tried to sexually assault her. When the girl screamed, he panicked and strangled her with his hands. He then used her payjamas to tie her body to make it look like a case of suicide,” the second officer added.

A statement issued by Station Commander, Delhi Cantonment, said the army authorities were extending their support in the investigation.

“The local military authorities are extending full support to the grieving family during this difficult time and cooperating closely with the police, who are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter. Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family, and we remain in constant touch with them to provide any assistance they may require,” the statement said.

Soon after the girl’s body was found, her family members, along with 50-60 people, gathered at the service road of the NH48 (Delhi-Gurugram highway) near the Shankar Vihar Military Station gate and blocked traffic, demanding justice for the victim. The protesters alleged that the girl was raped and murdered and blamed the authorities for “slow action”.

The protesters dispersed after senior officers assured them of a quick probe.

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