The body was sent to SMC-run SMIMER hospital for a post mortem.A 5-year-old tribal girl was kidnapped and murdered in Punagam area of Surat, Gujarat, in the early hours of Wednesday. Her body was recovered by the police from a private parking lot. One person was arrested in connection with the case.
The parents of the child, who are natives of Dahod district and work at a construction site in Punagam area, contacted the police this morning and lodged a missing persons complaint for their daughter.
According to the complaint, the parents were sleeping in a roadside makeshift tent with their four children. At around 1.30 am, the father woke up and found one of his daughters missing. He looked for her around the area and enquired with other people staying in similar makeshift tents. After he failed to locate her, he went to the police.
On carrying out a search operation and talking to people, the cops received information of a youth who was seen with a minor girl.
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The cops managed to trace the suspect and question him. Later, acting on the information given by the accused, the police recovered the body of the girl. The accused was later arrested and identified as Lallan Singh, a native of Madhya Pradesh.
The police registered a case against Singh under Indian Penal Code Sections 366 (Kidnapping) and 302 (Murder).
The body was sent to SMC-run SMIMER hospital for a post mortem.
Punagam police inspector A J Chaudhary said, “We have arrested the accused who does petty works in the same area. The accused knew the victim and her family as he resides in the same area. He took the girl while she was asleep. We are still not sure if he raped her, we are waiting for the doctor’s report. The intention of the accused was to commit rape, but she raised an alarm, following which, he pressed her mouth and later hit her with a stone on the head, killing her on the spot.”
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