Delhi: 32-year-old neighbour kidnaps, kills 3-year-old girl; held

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A three-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped and killed by her 32-year-old neighbour in southwest Delhi, the police said on Friday, reported the PTI.

The girl's body was found in a drain and the accused was arrested after a brief exchange of fire, an official said.

According to police, the incident occurred on Wednesday evening when the victim's family reported the kidnapping of their daughter from the Kapashera area in Delhi.

"A police team was sent to the spot immediately. The victim's mother told police that they have been staying here in a rented accommodation for the last five years," Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest), Rohit Meena said, according to the PTI.

"She told us that her daughter was playing outside of the house and at around 6 pm, her daughter was kidnapped by a neighbour," the DCP said.

On her complaint, an FIR was lodged by the police and a massive search operation was launched by a team of police officials to trace the girl and the suspect.

The police, while examining the CCTV footage spotted the suspect and the child, an official said.

"In one of the CCTV camera footage, the accused was seen with the girl going towards a drain at around 7.05 pm. In the same camera, he was found returning alone without the girl at around 7.25 pm," DCP Meena said, as per the PTI.

The accused who was identified as Anil (34), was traced and detained at about 11.55 pm, the same day from a bus heading towards Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

"He was interrogated and initially denied having played any role whatsoever in the kidnapping. But during sustained interrogation, he broke down and admitted to having killed and dumped the girl in a marshy drain located at the border of Gurgaon and Kapashera," DCP said, as per the PTI.

The police said that Anil then led the team to the drain, where they launched a search operation, he said.

The crime and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams were also called to the spot, he said.

"After a long search operation lasting more than an hour in the dark, the girl's body was finally found dumped in the marshy drain," he added.

"At that moment, the accused sensed an opportunity to escape. He grabbed the loaded service revolver of a police officer, tried to escape from custody, and fired at the team. The police fired in self-defence and hit him. He was immediately rushed to Indira Gandhi Hospital," Meena said.

"The body was examined by the FSL and crime team. The accused was arrested and is now in judicial custody. The body was sent for post-mortem," Meena said.

"Police are probing all angles including if the girl was sexually exploited," DCP Meena added.

(with PTI inputs)