An eight-year-old girl was strangled and her body was found in an army cantonment area in Delhi after she resisted a teen's effort to rape her, the police said. A 19-year-old, who lived in the locality, has been arrested.
The child was missing since yesterday evening and her parents were searching for her all night. This morning, her body was found hanging from a rod in a vacant building in the Shankar Vihar military area. The body has been sent for postmortem.
The police said they zeroed in on the teen after going through the CCTV footage from the area.
"During interrogation, the accused revealed that he lured the victim, who used to call him 'brother', to an isolated house in the locality and tried to force himself on her. When she resisted, he strangled her," news agency Press Trust of India quoted an un-named officer as saying.
He had also tried to pass off the murder as a suicide by tying a scarf around her neck, the police said.
The relatives of the girl had alleged that she had been raped and murdered. Demanding justice, the locals had blocked the National Highway Jaipur Road earlier today, but ended their protest after assurances from the police.
"The local military authorities are extending full support to the grieving family during this difficult time and cooperating closely with the police, who are conducting a thorough investigation into the matter," said the Station Commander of the Delhi Cantonment.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved family, and we remain in constant touch with them to provide any assistance they may require," he added.
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