7-year-old girl tortured, raped & murdered; neighbour arrested

TIRUCHY: A missing seven-year old Dalit girl was sexually assaulted and killed allegedly by her 25-year-old neighbour in a village near Pudukkottai, following which he has been arrested, police said on Thursday. Her body bore bite marks.

Police said the girl went missing while she was playing in front of her house on Monday. Her family raised the alarm and after failing to locate her despite several hours having passed, the girl’s father lodged a complaint with the Yembal police, who launched a hunt for her.

Two days later on Wednesday evening, the police found her body near a pond adjacent to her house. The body had multiple bite injuries and her dress was torn into shreds. Upon receiving information, Pudukkottai Superintendent of Police Arun Sakthikumar, Aranthangi DSP Balamurugan and Avudayarkoil Tahsildar Martin Luther King visited the spot, conducted inquiries and confirmed that the girl had been sexually assaulted. The accused had slit her throat and had dropped a heavy stone on her chest.

The police secured the body and sent it to the Pudukkottai medical college for a post mortem. “A youth, living near the child’s house and running a flower shop in the locality had taken her to a temple and local people also had seen them together. Later, this man had taken her to a secluded place where he sexually assaulted and killed her,” a police officer said. He was booked under IPC Sections 376, 302 and under the POCSO Act. He was arrested on Wednesday night and he confessed to the crime.

The girl’s family refused to accept the body demanding maximum punishment to the accused and a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the family. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken suo motu cognizance of the case and has sought a report from the Pudukkottai SP and the Collector.