Police said the girl was strangled after she began screaming. (For representational purposes)
A security guard has been arrested for allegedly murdering a six-year-old girl and sexually violating her body in Uttarakhand's Shyampur a few days ago, police said on Sunday. The accused - identified as Sonu from Haridwar - has reportedly confessed to committing the crime in a drunk state.
According to police, the girl went missing while she was playing with other children at her slum on Friday. An investigation revealed that Sonu, who works at a neighbouring poultry farm, allegedly lured her into a forested area near Chidiyapur village and tried to sexually assault her. When she began screaming, he strangled her and violated her body.
Police said the incident occurred barely 600 metres from the field where the child's parents, daily wage workers from Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, were working. Sonu was arrested soon after the girl's body was recovered on Saturday morning, and sent to 14 days' police custody.
The family of the murdered girl, however, alleges that a second person was also involved in the murder. "Three days ago, the guard and another person got into a fight with us. We did not go to the fields for three days after that, but now they have committed this heinous crime. I don't know why no action is being taken against the co-accused," a relative of the victim said.
The police have promised further action if their investigation reveals the involvement of a second accused. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.
Last July, five boys between the ages of nine and 14 gang-raped an eight-year-old girl in Uttarakhand's Sahaspur after watching a pornographic movie. Earlier this year, a four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a juvenile relative in Uttarakhand's Tehri district.
(With inputs from PTI)