A 21-year-old man was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and murdering an adolescent girl, whose decomposed body was recovered recently by police, an official said on Wednesday.
The incident took place in west Delhi's Nangloi area.
The accused has been arrested, they said, adding that the post-mortem report will confirm sexual assault.
A case of kidnapping was registered in Nangloi police station under section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the IPC on February 10 on the statement of the 11-year-old's mother, a senior police officer said.
According to the woman, her daughter had gone to school on February 9 and did not return after that, officer said.
After registering the case, an investigation was taken up.
During investigation, raids were conducted in Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Accused Rohit alias Vinod, a resident of Dairywala Bagh, Paschim Vihar, was nabbed on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Harendra Kumar Singh said.
The accused disclosed that he met the girl on February 9. After befriending her, he took her to a secluded place in the Ghewra area where he killed her and left, the DCP said.
He took the police team to the spot where the decomposed body of the minor was recovered. The crime and forensic science laboratory (FSL) teams were called and the body was sent to the mortuary, police said.
On Wednesday, an autopsy was conducted and the body was handed over to the family for last rites. The accused has been taken on police remand for further investigation, they said, adding that the section of murder has been added to the case.
The motive of the killing is being ascertained. The autopsy report will confirm any sexual assault, police added.
According to sources, the initial investigation has revealed that the victim did not go to school on February 9. The accused found her alone at a park where he approached her.
They both walked together for four to five kilometres along a railway track. Her body was recovered from a secluded area near the track. The accused was familiar with the area as he used to take the same route when he worked in a factory earlier, sources said.
The family members of the deceased identified the body through her school bag. The previous involvement, if any, of the accused is being checked, they added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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