Migrant workers’ child raped, killed in Goa, police detain 15

SP South Goa Sunita Sawant said, “The postmortem has confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted and then smothered to death. We have rounded up 15-20 labourers who were working in the vicinity of the construction site at the time of the incident.”

Police said an FIR has been lodged against the accused under IPC sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder), relevant sections of the POCSO Act and the Goa Children’s Act.

The victim’s parents are migrant labourers from West Bengal, the police said.

“There were some injury marks on the face and neck of the girl. An inquest was conducted and the body was sent for a postmortem,” said a police officer on condition of anonymity.

“When the girl’s father was on duty Friday night, his five-year-old daughter was with him. Around 12.15 am, he asked his daughter to return to their house, where her mother was asleep. When he returned to the house at 2 am, their daughter was missing. The family later found the girl’s body behind a building near their house and rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival,” said a police officer.