7-year-old raped, killed; body burnt by youth

The partially charred body of the girl, who was reported missing since Sunday, was found near a bridge at Anakaputhur. Mangadu police have arrested a 22-year-old mechanical engineer Dashwant, a neighbour, suspecting him of having committed the crime.

Sources said that the girl was playing in a park adjacent to her apartment complex at Mugalivakkam on Sunday around 6.30 pm. Her mother had gone out with her younger brother for shopping. However, when the mother returned, she could not find her daughter and started searching in various places. 

A police official said, “Dashwant, the engineer, who stays on the same floor as the girl’s parents, had abducted the girl and took her to his house, where he sexually assaulted her. The girl must have died when he tried to gag the child to prevent her from raising an alarm.” 

The officer added, “When the youth realised that the girl had died, he panicked and reportedly stuffed her body in a polythene bag and then into a travel bag. He then carried the bag on his two-wheeler and dumped it under a bridge on the Chennai Bypass. He poured petrol and burnt it before leaving the place.” 

He returned home as though nothing had happened and joined the child’s parents in their search. He even called the police control room and reported the missing case along with her parents, police said. When the police team started their investigations in the apartment complex and the inmates of the flat, Dashwant gave up. He later confessed to the crime, police sources said. 

When police took Dashwant to the crime scene, an angry mob tried to attack him. Police said that the accused worked as a mechanical engineer with a private firm in Mylapore. The victim was a second grade student of a private school in the locality. The family had moved into the apartment only six months back, the police added.