NIZAMABAD: The rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Dharmaram village under Dichpally police station limits of Nizamabad district came to light after police arrested the accused late on Saturday night. While the offence took place on October 20, the victim succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment in Hyderabad a day after.
Addressing the media, Nizamabad Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) A Venkateshwarlu said the accused, who hails from Peddaekalara village in Madnoor Mandal of Kamareddy district, and the victim’s mother, who is an agricultural labourer, had met each other at a toddy shop in Attapur of Hyderabad.
About five months ago, both of them came to Dharmaram for agricultural work and decided to get married at the Madhavanagar Sai Baba temple, he added. The victim’s mother was living in Hyderabad with her two daughters after separating from her husband.
On October 20, the accused had taken the victim to a local hospital for dressing her leg injuries. While they were returning, the accused took her to an agricultural field near Mentrajpally Road and raped her, the ACP said. Due to the critical injuries, the victim became unconscious and was taken to a private hospital in Nizamabad. She was later referred to Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Hiding of facts
The accused had reportedly told the victim’s mother that the six-year-old had sustained head injuries. In the first complaint, the victim’s mother said that she had passed away due to head injuries, based on which the police registered a case under Section 174 (suspicious death) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, the autopsy report showed that she died due to injuries caused by sexual assault. Subsequently, the police altered the sections under which the accused was charged. He was booked under Sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 376 AB (punishment for rape) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The accused had originally fled to Dharmaram after the victim’s death. However, when he returned to collect his belongings on Saturday, he was arrested.