MP man held for alleged rape and murder of eight-year-old girl

A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh's Narsinghpur district. The crime triggered protests, with villagers demanding the death penalty, demolition of the accused's house and compensation for the victim's family

Narsinghpur (MP): A 22-year-old man allegedly raped an eight-year-old girl before strangling her in Madhya Pradesh’s Narsinghpur district, triggering protests by locals who demanded that his house be bulldozed, a police official said on Friday.

The accused, who had also joined the search for the girl, was taken into custody on Thursday, the official said.

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The youth allegedly approached the girl at her school during the lunch break on Wednesday and asked her to accompany him, claiming that her father had called her home.

When she did not return home after school, her family informed the police. After an eight-hour search, the child’s body was found in a ditch in a forest, about 1.5 km from the village, the official said.

Superintendent of Police Dr Rishikesh Meena said that while 40 to 50 police personnel and about 60 villagers were searching for the girl, the accused also pretended to be looking for her.

Following inputs from some girls, the police pressed a sniffer dog into service. The canine led the police to the accused’s house.

A large number of people gathered outside the mortuary where doctors conducted the girl’s autopsy on Thursday. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the authorities demanding the death penalty for the accused, demolition of his house and compensation for the victim’s family, the official said.

Sensing trouble, the police took the body to the victim’s village through another route, he said.

The official said the case would be tried in a fast-track court.

Meanwhile, the market in the village in Gotegaon tehsil remained closed in protest against the incident. Villagers also took out a candlelight march.

Police have been deployed in the victim’s village to maintain law and order in view of the public outrage, the official said.