Accused Tried to Persuade Other Girls to Come to His House: Locals

In a gruesome murder that unfolded on Saturday evening, a nine-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and murdered by her 30-year-old neighbour at his house near Dayalpur in northeast Delhi, after which he stuffed her body in a suitcase to hide it, police officers said on Sunday.

- Karn Pratap Singh

NEW DELHI:

The accused went absconding shortly after the girl's family started searching for her. Police have identified him and have initiated a search, officers said.

The grisly crime led to widespread outrage in the area, with the family members of the girl and locals staging a protest. Security personnel were deployed in the area to ensure law and order, officers said.

According to police and the family members, the girl, a Class 5 student at a local government school and a resident of Dayalpur, left her house at around 7 pm to give "ice" to another relative who lives nearby. While on her way, the accused, who lives in a second-floor flat in a six-storey building in the area, allegedly asked the girl to come to his house on the pretext of delivering his house keys which had fallen on the road, police said. Locals and her family alleged that he had deliberately thrown the keys to convince the girl to come. Around 7:30 pm, when the girl did not return, the family enquired about her from the relative, but they told him that she had not come to their house. The family then began a search.