Mumbai: A day after the 35-year-old paedophile was arrested by Juhu police for kidnapping, raping and killing a nine-year-old girl, he confessed of smothering and strangulating the girl to death on Thursday evening. The arrested accused, Devendra Vadivel aka Gundappa, had kidnapped the girl on Thursday evening, raped her at a secluded spot in Juhu’s Nehru Nagar and killed her, revealed police probe.
Moreover, Gundappa’s four family members were arrested for obstruct investigation. Meanwhile, Gundappa was produced in a local magistrate court and remanded in police custody till April 15, said police.
Even as police had arrested Gundappa on Saturday after the victim’s body was recovered in a mildly decomposed state from the gutter of a public toilet, the mystery over the cause of death was unclear until Sunday. During questioning, Gundappa revealed he had smothered and strangled the girl to death after sexually assaulting her at a secluded spot in Juhu on Thursday.
“After the crime, Gundappa dumped the girl’s dead body in the gutter between two stalls of a public toilet. To avert suspicion, Gundappa then helped the girl’s family to look for her, while constantly misleading police probe,” said a senior police officer.
On Thursday evening, when the girl returned from school, she asked her mother for tea and biscuits. Her mother sent her out to buy the items. But when she failed to return for hours afterwards, her family registered a case of kidnapping at Juhu police station, said police.
Juhu police have booked Gundappa under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping (Section 363), rape (Section 376), murder (Section 302) and causing the disappearance of evidence (Section 201) along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act. He was produced in court and remanded to police custody till April 15 for further investigation. Hours after Gundappa’s arrest, police had visited his Nehru Nagar residence to do a panchnama, but were stopped by his family.
Gundappa’s wife Muskaan (20), his brother Chemuttu (36), mother Ramai (55) and sister-in-law Babu (33), threatened to hit police with an iron rod if they attempt to enter their house. Gundappa’s family were booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for criminal intimidation (Section 506(2)), intentional insult (Section 504), wrongful restraint (Section 341) and common intention (Section 34).
