Police Saturday claimed to have cracked the case of rape and murder of a 17-year-old girl in the city with the arrest of her uncle.
The accused, who is the husband of the victim's aunt, was arrested late last night, police said.
The girl was found dead at her house in Dhayari area on Thursday. Her post-mortem later confirmed that she was raped and strangled to death.
"The accused, who is in his thirties, is the husband of deceased's aunt (mother's sister). He has been arrested," a senior police official said.
"We suspected his involvement and zeroed in on him. During the interrogation, he confessed to committing the crime between 1 pm and 5 pm on Thursday," he added.
The accused knew the schedule of the victim, who used to remain alone at home after returning from college. Her brother used to come back from school in the evening, he said.
"Sinhgad Police have booked the accused under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he will be produced before the court later in the day," the official said.
According to police, when the minor's brother returned home in the evening on Thursday, he found her lying in an unconscious state. He immediately informed his parents, who go out for work during the day as labourers.
Her father then called their neighbour, who is a nurse and asked her to check what has happened. After checking the girl's pulse, the woman rushed her to a private hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.
Initially, a case of accidental death was registered and the body was sent for autopsy.
"The post-mortem report confirmed that the girl was allegedly raped and strangled to death," the officer said adding that a case under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered at the Sinhgad police station.
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