Three days after a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered in a northeast Delhi locality, a 28-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday following an encounter near the Welcome area, said police.
The accused received a bullet injury in his leg as he tried to escape after he was caught by a team of police officers from the Special Staff of the Northeast district, officers added.
A constable, Amit Mann, was injured when the accused attacked him with the blade in a bid to escape. “We got a tip-off that the accused was hiding in Jheel Park near the Welcome area. Our team laid a trap and nabbed him. In the meantime, he tried to launch an attack on the officers with a blade that he was carrying, and in retaliation, we fired, leaving him injured,” a police officer said.
The incident was reported on Saturday when the girl had gone missing. Her family was preparing for Eid celebrations and she was asked to get some ice ahead of the feast.
A frantic search led the father to the house of the accused, who lived in their neighbourhood on the second floor of a building. The girl was found stuffed inside a suitcase. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, where she died during the treatment around 9 pm. The father alleged that the girl was sexually assaulted.
The girl’s father told reporters that while he was searching for his daughter, some neighbours said they saw her going to the house of a neighbour.
“I went there, and the door was locked. When I broke open the lock, I found a suitcase that was moving. I opened it and found my daughter inside. I took her to a nursing home nearby. They asked me to take her to a hospital,” he added.
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According to another officer, the accused was alone at his house as his wife, along with their child, had gone to her maternal house. After committing the crime, he allegedly fled from the scene, the officer said
A case has been registered under sections 103 (1) [murder], 66 (punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state of the victim), and 13 (2) [enhanced punishment for repeat offenders], of the BNS, along with Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
The body, a police officer said, was then taken to GTB hospital, where a post-mortem examination was conducted on Sunday.
