Panipat: A man has been arrested for allegedly raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Haryana's Panipat on Thursday, police said. The accused has been identified as Yogesh, a native of Yamuna Nagar. On Diwali night, the girl suddenly went missing while playing outside her house in Kuldeep Nagar.
The girl's uncle said, "My niece came with her grandmother from Lakhimpur to her parent's house in Kuldeep Nagar of Panipat two days ago. On Diwali night, she was bursting crackers outside the house with me at around 8 pm. I left her playing outside the house and went for a walk, when I came back home around 9 o'clock, I did not find her."
He further said, "We kept looking for her here and there till late at night. Due to not having an Aadhar card, we were not able to complain to the police. The next morning, her body was found in the bushes behind our house, after which we informed the police."
When the police reached the spot, she was lying in a bloodied condition in the bushes and there was a mark on her neck. The police had also announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for giving information about the accused.
Police have arrested the accused from Howrah railway station in Kolkata and brought him to Panipat. "The girl's post-mortem was conducted and the report suggested that it was a rape," police added.
Also read: Cal HC directs ex-Andaman chief secy to appear before SIT over gang-rape charge
ASP Vijay Singh said, "6 teams of police were formed who were investigating the matter in every aspect. During the investigation, we found that room number 5 of tenants near the victim's house was locked from the outside. Due to this, the suspicion went on Yogesh, who lived in the room."
Singh further said, "The location of Yogesh's phone was changing every time. When the door of the accused room was broken, the Tantra Vidya elements were found. A woman's clothes and blood-stained clothes were recovered from the room. He was then arrested from Kolkata. The accused had a past criminal record in which he has served five years of jail for child abuse in Yamuna Nagar."
