Pune: The railway police in Maharashtra's Solapur apprehended a couple travelling with the body of their 16-month-old daughter, who had allegedly been sexually assaulted and strangled to death, an official said on Friday.
The railway police on Thursday nabbed the duo from a Gujarat-bound train at Solapur station with the body of the toddler, the official said.
The accused were travelling from Secunderabad city of Telangana in a Rajkot-bound train to dispose of the body at their hometown, he said.
As per the preliminary probe, the child's 26-year-old father had allegedly sexually assaulted and strangled her to death at their home in Secunderabad on January 3, and the mother had helped him in the crime.
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Some alert passengers in the train got suspicious when the child did not show any sign of movement during the journey, the official said.
"The fellow passengers then informed the ticket examiner on the train, and subsequently, the railway police at Solapur station were also alerted," said Ganesh Shinde, additional superintendent of police, (railway police).
The duo was made to disembark at Solapur railway station, he said.
"Following a medical check-up, the toddler was announced dead. It was revealed that the father had strangled her to death after sexually assaulting her. The mother had also helped him in the crime. The family then boarded the Rajkot-bound train, as they wanted to dispose of the body at their native place," Shinde said.
A case has been registered against the couple at Solapur railway police station under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
PTI
