A man has been arrested in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly murdering a six-year-old girl. The girl's body was recovered from near a pond today hours after she went missing from her home.
The girl's family has alleged that the accused, who is a neighbour, abducted her, raped her and strangled her to death.
Police have said the body has been sent for post-mortem, a case has been registered under IPC Section 302 (murder) and the accused has been taken into custody.
"My daughter was sleeping. She must have stepped out to relieve herself when he (accused) abducted her," said the girl's father. He added that the accused must have sexually assaulted the girl and then killed her. The family members and others in the locality found the body near a pond and then informed police, he said.
The accused, he said, did not get along with anyone in the locality and managed to get away even after committing crimes. "I had a land dispute with him, but I just gave the land away. There was always fear. About four-five years ago, I had submitted an application to the police station as we would frequently threaten us. He committed many crimes but there was no action. That emboldened him," said the girl's father.
Superintendent of Police, Barabanki, Yamuna Prasad said they have received information that the girl had injury marks on her left eye and preliminary examination suggests that she was strangled to death. "The accused has been charged under Section 302 and taken into custody. The girl's family and the accused are neighbours," he said.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Barabanki, Manoj Kumar Pandey said that around 3 am today, the police were informed about the recovery of the girl's body from near a pond about 600 m from the village. "The girl was missing since around 11 pm yesterday and her family members had been looking for her. Local police are at the spot," the police officer said.
