Truck driver held for rape, murder of 6-yr-old in Raj

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Police on Monday arrested a 39-year-old truck driver who allegedly raped and killed a six-year-old girl in Tonk on Sunday.

Tonk superintendent of police Adarsh Siddhu said that the accused, identified as Mahendra alias Dholiya, was arrested from Uniara, around 20 km from the village where the girl resided.

The body of the girl — a Class 1 student — was spotted by some villagers in the bushes in a remote area of a village in Ali

garh town in Tonk district. The locals then informed the police, who rushed to the spot with a forensics team. Empty liquor bottles were also recovered from the spot.

The body of the six-year-old, allegedly raped and strangled to death with her school belt, was found a day after she went missing.

Dholiya, who works as a truck driver, was known to the girl as he lived in the same village, the SP said. On Saturday, as the girl was exiting her school, Dholiya lured her to an isolated spot on the context of giving her a toffee. He then sexually assaulted her, Siddhu said.

Dholiya allegedly committed the crime under the influence of alcohol. He will be produced before a local court on Tuesday, the SP said.

“Seeing the seriousness of the crime, special teams were formed to nab the accused. During the investigation, the team identified the accused through various evidence collected from the spot and nabbed him,” said Siddhu.

As per the preliminary investigation, the nature of injury indicates that the minor was raped and then strangled to death with the school belt that she was wearing, said Ram Krishan, station house officer (SHO), Aligarh police station.

Tonk additional superintendent of police Vipin Sharma said that the family members of the minor did not approach the police on Saturday after the girl did not return home as they thought she might be at a relative’s place.

The police have booked Dholiya for rape, murder, kidnapping under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Meanwhile, apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has sought an actiontaken report from the Rajasthan government within seven days in the rape and murder of the minor.