The accused was tracked down around 11.30 pm and taken into police custody. (Representational)
An eight-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her neighbour in north Delhi's Narela area, police said on Saturday.
Police ruled out any sexual assault angle in the case and attributed the murder to the strained relationship the victim's brother had with the accused. The accused and the victim's family lived in adjacent houses.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to police over the incident after it received a complaint from the elder sister of the girl who alleged that the minor was sexually assaulted.
According to police, it received information regarding the girl's disappearance around 10 pm on Friday.
She was traced after analysing CCTV footage of the main road around 150 metres from her house, a senior officer said.
The accused was tracked down around 11.30 pm and taken into police custody, he said.
While he tried to mislead the police initially, the accused disclosed upon cross-verification and sustained interrogation that he had a strained relationship with the victim's brother, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Devesh Kumar Mahla said.
He killed the victim around a kilometre from her home to take revenge against her brother. The body has been recovered and the spot inspected by crime and forensic teams, police said.
The victim's post mortem revealed strangulation and skull fractures and there were no visible signs of sexual assault, they added.
It is suspected that the accused smashed the head of the child with stones, however, the investigation is underway, police said.
Police registered a case under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the missing complaint. Later, Section 302 (murder) of the IPC was added and the accused arrested, Mahla said.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Anwar (22), police said.
Preliminary investigation and disclosures of Mohammad Anwar have revealed that he had developed animosity towards the brother of the girl because of their frequent arguments. Around 15 days ago, they had a fight and Mohammad Anwar killed the girl to seek revenge, the DCP said.
Taking cognizance of the matter, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal issued a notice to the Delhi Police seeking an action taken report by October 11.
"In her complaint, the elder sister of the girl informed the commission that they are five siblings and their father is no more. Her mother works as a domestic help. On Friday, their neighbour kidnapped her sister from their house. He lured her on the pretext of providing some eatables," the DCW statement said.
She stated that when the girl did not return, a missing complaint was registered with police. She also alleged that when police apprehended the accused, he told them that he had killed the child. Later, the body of the girl was retrieved from the bushes near a traffic light, it stated.
The complainant has alleged sexual assault with her sister and involvement of other accused people in the matter, the DCW said.
The Commission has sought the arrest of all those accused by the complainant along with a copy of postmortem repot of the child, it said.
Ms Maliwal said, "An eight-year-old girl was murdered and her head was smashed brutally with stones. Her family has alleged that she was raped. We have issued notice to Delhi Police. This is very disturbing." "Every day a heinous crime is reported and the capital is becoming increasingly unsafe for children. All accused must be arrested immediately and they must be given exemplary punishment at the earliest," she said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)