A 19-year-old man has been arrested for killing a 4-year-old girl following a failed rape attempt in Kiratpur area of Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh.
Amaan Khan, the accused, is a resident of the same locality and slit the throat of the minor girl when she protested his advances.
The accused and the victim girl belong to the same community, according to the police.
On March 3, the girl was playing in her neighbourhood when Amaan spotted her. He took the girl to a nearby abandoned, dilapidated building on the pretext of giving her a chocolate bar.
The victim started screaming when the accused attempted to violate her. In a panic, Amaan took out his knife and slit her throat and fled the spot to hide in a forest area.
Her family members sounded an alarm when they could not find the girl for many hours. Even as her family members and neighbours launched a search, some boys flying kites on the rooftop in the vicinity of the abandoned building noticed her body.
On getting the information, local police visited the spot and sent the body for post-mortem, which confirmed her death due to “sharp weapon injury”.
Police registered a case against unknown persons for murder at Kiratpur police station under section 320 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and constituted three teams, including SWAT and surveillance teams.
Amaan’s name cropped up during the course of the police investigation and he was finally arrested at the town bus station on March 5.
Upon interrogation, Amaan accepted to have committed the crime. Based on his revelations, the police recovered the knife used in the crime and his clothes which has blood stains all over them.
“This murder case has been solved within 24 hours,” claimed a police official, adding that the accused is an addict. He would often consume bhang (cannabis).
Amaan is a native of Incholi area of Meerut district and was living with his maternal uncle in the victim’s neighbourhood, according to the police.
He was well acquainted with the victim and would often visit her at her home on the pretext of meeting her elder brother, who was his friend.
“He was once scolded by the victim’s father,” said the police, quoting his statement.
His maternal uncle was his sole caretaker as he didn’t have any parents or siblings.
In his statement to the police, Amaan said he decided to murder the girl because she would have told her family members about his rape attempt, which would have caused him embarrassment in the eyes of his maternal uncle.
The Bijnor SP has announced a cash reward of ₹50,000 for the police personnel involved in the case.