Berhampur: Police Saturday evening arrested a 27-year-old man on the charge of rape and murder of a 4-year-old girl in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
The accused is a distant relative of the deceased, said an official.
The girl was missing since Friday evening, when a festival was going on in the village. Her body was recovered from under Pattapur police station limits in the district.
The girl along with her mother went to her paternal uncle’s house for the festival. She went missing while playing in the verandah of the house Friday evening. A missing complaint was lodged at the Pattapur police station. The accused lured the girl by offering chocolate and a visit to the festival. He took her to an isolated place and attempted to rape her. He killed her by throttling her and then dumped the body. He was under the influence of liquor, SP (Ganjam) Subhendu Kumar Patra said.
Later, the villagers found her body in the under-construction house of the Anganwadi centre and informed the police. A police team immediately rushed to the spot and recovered the body.
Family members suspected that the girl might have been raped and killed by miscreants.
Senior police officers, including the SP visited the spot. A scientific police team and dog squad were also engaged to assist in the investigation.
The body was sent to MKCG Medical College here for post-mortem examination. The exact cause of the death would be ascertained only after getting the autopsy report, said police.
Afterwards, the cops arrested the man on the charge of rape and murder of the girl.
PTI
