Teenager arrested for rape, murder of seven-year-old

More than a month after a seven-year-old girl was found raped and murdered in Malwani, the police on Wednesday arrested a 19-year-old man from her locality, after DNA profiling proved that he had committed the crime.

The victim, a Malwani resident, went missing on May 23, and was found dead in a forest area near Malwani creek early the next morning.

A medical examination of the body confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted before being strangled. The police registered a case.

An officer with the Malwani police said, “During the course of investigations, we rounded up several suspects. One of them was Sunny Saroj, who stays in the victim’s locality. We found him nervous and his demeanour evasive. But he kept denying any connection to the crime.” According to the police, while many suspects broke down under prolonged questioning, but Saroj held his own.

The police then decided that they needed conclusive evidence.

A team of experts from the Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) in Kalina had already found semen traces on the victim’s clothes, and the police decided to get DNA samples from the accused.

In order to avoid making Saroj suspicious, the police collected blood samples from scores of Malwani residents, including Saroj, telling everyone that it was a routine measure.

The samples were then sent to the FSL so that the DNA in them could be compared with the DNA in the semen traces.

“On Tuesday, the FSL sent us its report, in which it stated that Saroj’s DNA had matched the DNA in the samples. We arrested him in the early hours of Wednesday. He was produced in court and remanded in our custody till July 11. We are interrogating him,” said senior police inspector Milind Khetle, Malwani police station.

Saroj has been charged with sexual assault, murder and attempted destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and with sexual assault on a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

DNA profiling nails accused over a month after girl was found dead in a forest area near Malwani creek