3 held for raping, killing 4-year-old in Thane

In a shocking incident, a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped, brutally killed and buried in a nullah by the accused in Bhayander area on the outskirts of Mumbai, police said.

Three persons have been arrested in this regard. They were on Sunday remanded in police custody by a local court.

On January 9, her parents had filed a complaint with Navghar police that the child was kidnapped by some unknown person from near their house while she was playing, SP (rural) Mahesh Patil told reporters.

“On January 12 evening, the body of the missing girl was found buried in a nullah near Azad Nagar slum area in Bhayander township of Thane district. The police got to know that one of the persons acquainted with the family had committed the crime,” he said.

The 24-year-old prime accused, who was known to the victim’s family, during interrogation admitted that he had raped and killed the girl, police said.

The accused allegedly took the victim to Azad Nagar, raped her and then gagged her to death. As per the post-mortem report, wound marks were found on the child's head, police had earlier said.

A cat had nibbled the body and the child’s arm was spotted at the pit in the nullah by some locals who informed police. The body was exhumed on January 12.

Police on Sunday said that after committing the offence and burying the child’s body in the pit dug by them in the nullah, the accused had dinner at a hotel in the locality.

Three of the accused were arrested on Friday and produced before a local court which remanded them to police custody till January 24, Navghar’s Senior Police Inspector
Srikant Padule said.

According to police, the victim’s family and the accused had no dispute.

Padule also said the main accused developed closeness with the child’s family in the last few months to gain their confidence.

Police are in the process of recording the statements of the accused and witnesses, he said.

A manhunt has been launched to nab the fourth accused, who is suspected to have fled Maharashtra, police said.

Initially, the case was registered under IPC section 363 (kidnapping), but now the accused have been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 376(D) (gang rape) and also under sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, they said.