Ludhiana, December 30: A minor girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a neighbour in Punjab's Ludhiana. Her body was found in the bed box at the house of the suspect's cousin. The alleged sex assault followed by murder took place on Thursday, December 29. The accused, who has been identified by the police, is absconding.
The four-year-old girl had come to Ludhiana on December 12 to meet her relatives. The accused, a labourer, had also come to the city recently and was staying with his cousin. After killing the girl, the accused hid her body in the bed box at his cousin's house, locked the doors and returned to his hometown. A manhunt has been launched to nab him.
Accused lured girl with chocolate
According to a report, the accused lured the girl, who was playing alone, with a chocolate and took her to his cousin's house. There, he allegedly raped her and strangled her to death. The police did not confirm sexual assault, but they believe the girl was raped as there could not be any other motive for the murder.
Here's how the accused was identified
The girl's absence was noticed hours after she was taken away. When informed, the cops started checking CCTV footages from the area and found the accused taking the girl inside his cousin's house. In one of the videos, he was seen locking the house and fleeing.
When the cops searched the house, the girl's body was recovered from the bed box. The police formed teams to catch the accused and assured that he would be arrested soon. They are waiting for the postmortem report to ascertain if the girl was raped. Further investigation is underway.
