A vital clue in the form of a pink-and-purple salwar kameez suit helped the police nab the culprit in an alleged case of sexual assault and killing of a seven-year-old girl.
The body of the victim, who was missing since June 21, was recovered from a box floating in a canal at Bhajanpura on June 28.
The accused, Ibral (25), had allegedly put the body in the box after killing the girl and dumped it into the canal, the police said, adding that the case contained a salwar kameez and a blanket, which eventually led to his arrest.
Ibral was nabbed on July 5 from Sudamapuri following a tip-off, said A K Singla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-east).
The victim lived with her family at New Usmanpur. At around 10 am on June 21, she had gone to her aunt's house nearby, along with her two elder sisters. After spending some time there, the girl had left her aunt's house by herself.
When her sisters returned home later, they did not find the girl. The family members launched a hunt for her and lodged a police complaint when she could not be found.
On the morning of June 28, the police were informed about a box floating in the canal. It was retrieved and the body of the girl was recovered from it.
The hands and legs of the victim were found tied and the body had decayed.
The police had also seized a pink-and-purple salwar kameez suit and a blanket, which were found in the box.
When they started questioning the locals, one of them recognised the salwar kameez and told the police that she had seen Ibral's sister wearing it, said Singla.
When the police arrived at Ibral's residence, he was found to be absconding. However, he was nabbed subsequently.
Ibral told the police that he was drunk on the day of the incident and as he saw the girl passing by, he called her to his house and forced himself on her.
After sexually assaulting the victim, the accused smothered her with his hands, the police said.
Ibral then emptied the box, but forgot to take out the salwar suit and the blanket.
Even though the autopsy of the girl did not conclusively establish a sexual assault, the police said they would slap charges of rape as well as under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act on the accused.
Since the body of the victim had started putrefying and many of the organs were affected, the vaginal swabs could not be taken, said sources.
The police said rape charges would be slapped on the accused on the basis of his confession.
They added that the accused's mother and one of the neighbours had helped him cover his trail and they would also be charged accordingly.
The accused used to live close to the girl's house earlier, the police said, adding that his wife had left him around six months back due to his addiction to liquor.
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