Mumbai: The Navghar police, investigating the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in Bhayander, have asked the Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and the Thane police to inform them whether the three accused arrested in the case have criminal records. The accused have been remanded in police custody till January 24.
The victim, who used to stay in Azad Nagar with her parents, had gone missing on Monday last week and was found dead in a drain behind the Golden Nest Complex on Thursday. The police arrested the three accused on Saturday, charging them for murder, rape and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and sexual assault on a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A fourth accused is absconding.
According to police sources, all the four accused were working as daily wage labourers, and did not restrict themselves to the Thane rural area. “As the accused would work in areas other than Bhayander, we are finding out whether they have committed any crimes in other areas. There are no past cases against them with the Thane Rural police,” said Additional Superintendent of Police Yashwant Kadam, Thane Rural police.
Meanwhile, the police have received information that the fourth accused might have fled the State. “We have sent teams to three different locations outside the State to apprehend the accused,” Mr. Kadam said.
One of the three arrested accused knew the victim as he used to work for her father. On Monday night, he allegedly convinced the girl to come with him by offering her a chocolate and took her to an open space behind her slums, where he and the other accused allegedly took turns with her. The police said he hit her with a stone when she tried to cry out for help, killing her, and then they allegedly dumped her body in the drain.
