New Delhi: A 11-year-old girl sleeping beside her family on a pavement in south Delhi was allegedly kidnapped, raped and murdered by a cab driver in the early hours of June 22, police said Tuesday.
The accused, under the influence of marijuana, allegedly took the child to an isolated stretch near the Faridabad-Gurugram border, sexually assaulted her, strangled her with a piece of cloth and then smashed her chest with a stone, before covering the body with a pile of stones in an apparent attempt to conceal the crime and destroy evidence.
What has left investigators and the victim’s family horrified is the accused’s conduct after the crime. Police said he showed no remorse, remained largely unemotional during interrogation and resumed his routine as if nothing had happened, even picking up another passenger before he was arrested hours later.
The accused, identified as Bashu Kumar Singh (29), a native of Bihar who is married and has children in his home state, was arrested within six hours of the incident following an extensive manhunt involving nearly 20 police teams.
According to police, the girl was sleeping beside her parents, who are daily-wage labourers, on a pavement near Chattarpur metro station in Mehrauli, when Singh allegedly abducted her around 4.15 am Monday.
Investigators said Singh had parked his white hatchback near the family for some time before allegedly kidnapping the child.
Her father woke up moments later, noticed the vehicle speeding away and realised his daughter was missing. A PCR call was made to the Mehrauli police station at 4.58 am, prompting an immediate police response.
A kidnapping case was registered, and a large-scale search operation was launched. Police scanned footage from nearly 200 CCTV cameras, piecing together Singh’s movement through technical surveillance and local intelligence.
The trail led officers to Vikaspuri in west Delhi, where Singh was arrested around 11 am, shortly after he had dropped off a passenger.
“He had picked up and dropped a passenger after the crime and appeared to be behaving normally, showing no indication of what he had done,” a police source said.
During interrogation, Singh allegedly admitted to consuming marijuana before the crime but repeatedly changed his version of events.
In one account, he claimed he sexually assaulted the child inside his car on Mandi Road near Fatehpur Beri, close to the Gurugram border.
In another version, he told police that he drove her to a secluded forested patch along the Faridabad-Gurugram road, where he raped her, strangled her and struck her with a stone. Police are also verifying if he drugged the victim to silence her.
Police said he later led investigators to the crime scene around 5 pm, where the child’s body was found concealed under stones.
Investigators are also verifying Singh’s claim that he had initially intended to return the girl to the place from where he had abducted her, but fled after spotting police personnel in the area.
Forensic Science Laboratory teams collected biological and material samples from both the accused’s car and the crime scene. The body was sent for a post-mortem.
Police said no evidence suggesting the involvement of any other person has surfaced so far.
A case under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, along with charges of rape, kidnapping and murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, has been registered.
Meanwhile, heart-rending scenes played out at a crematorium in Chattarpur on Tuesday as the girl’s family bid her a final farewell amid heavy police deployment.
Relatives wailed inconsolably, some collapsing to the ground in grief, while others fainted during the cremation.
“We have lost everything. The accused must be given capital punishment,” a relative shouted.
Police have also found that Singh has five criminal cases registered against him in Bihar, including two for attempt to murder. Investigators said he allegedly showed no remorse during questioning and told them he did not regret the crime. His family members, too, described him as aggressive in nature.
Officials said they will also contact the online cab aggregator through which Singh was employed to ascertain whether proper background verification had been carried out.
Police said the chargesheet will be filed at the earliest to ensure maximum punishment for the accused.
PTI
