The accused has been charged under the POCSO Act and sent to 5 days police custody till December 10 (Representational/Express photo/Amit Mehra)Eleven hours after a class VII girl left for school Wednesday morning, her body was found buried in a jungle, barely 2 kilometres away from her house in a village in Tripura district.
The police have arrested a youth, accused of raping and murdering the minor, then burying her body to hide evidence. He has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sent to 5 days police custody till December 10 by a special district judge’s court.
“The victim started for school from her residence on Wednesday but didn’t return. We received a tip-off after she went missing and came to know that her family was searching for her. We conducted a raid and detained a youth who was allegedly involved. He led us to a jungle, 2 Km from her home, where we found the body,” a sub-divisional police officer informed indianexpress.com.
The police officer also said that the deceased’s parents lodged a complaint late night on Wednesday accusing the detainee of raping, murdering and burying the girl.
However, the official declined to confirm whether the victim was raped, saying the exhumed body was sent for post-mortem examination. “Postmortem report has not arrived yet. We can’t confirm now if she was raped,” he said.
He could not confirm if the crime was committed before the victim reached her school or on her way back. He said an investigation is being conducted on the matter.
