Bhubaneswar: A 27-year-old man was arrested in Odisha’s Ganjam district for allegedly raping and murdering his 4-year-old girl distant relative, whose body was recovered from an under-construction house on Saturday, Police said.
“The man, a distant relative of the girl who went missing on Friday evening, has been charged under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012,” Ganjam superintendent of police (SP) Suvendu Patra said.
The accused had allegedly lured the girl with a chocolate and told her he was taking her to a festival in their village. “But he instead took her to an isolated place and attempted to rape her. He killed her by throttling her and then dumped the body. He was under the influence of liquor,” the SP said.
After a missing complaint was lodged, the police started investigating. A forensic team and dog squad with several seniors police officers visited the crime site and collected more evidence.
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“On grounds of suspicion, several people, including the accused, were called for interrogation. The accused was reported seen with the girl and the locals said that he used to often offer chips and toffees to the girl,” the SP added.
According to preliminary investigation, the accused was allegedly under the influence of alcohol on April 25 evening. “He had watched porn on his mobile phone before luring the girl. After dumping the dead body he consumed alcohol again,” the SP said.
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Police have sent the body to MKCG Medical College for postmortem. “The exact cause of the death would be ascertained only after we get the autopsy report,” the SP said.
“We are investigating all angles and interrogating villagers suspected of involvement in the gruesome incident,” the SP added.