Uttarakhand: Man, 22, rapes and murders 3-year-old cousin; arrested in Udham Singh Nagar

RUDRAPUR: A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed by her 22-year-old maternal cousin in Kolkatta farm of Bakhpur village in Kichha town of

Udham Singh Nagar

district.

The girl was missing since Thursday afternoon and her body was recovered from the bushes on the outskirts of the village. The accused, Ajay Kumar, a resident of nearby Bari village, was arrested by the police a few hours after the crime, the police said.

Circle Officer (CO) city, Om Prakash Sharma said that the girl was alone at home as her mother had gone to the fields to work while her father had gone to attend the last rituals of a deceased in the village. When the parents came back home they found the girl missing and raised an alarm.

"The victim's family launched a frantic search for the child. They informed us and we immediately swung into action and formed three teams to find the girl. The neighbours said that they had seen Ajay on a bike with the child. During interrogation Ajay admitted to raping and then strangulating the child. On his instance the body was recovered on the village outskirts," said CO Sharma.

"After investigation and post-mortem report, sexual assault against the child was confirmed. It was also confirmed that there had been an attempt to hide the evidence as the body was hidden under the bushes," the official said.

The accused has been booked under IPC section 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 363 (missing) among others, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police added. The body was later handed over to the kin.