9-year-old 'raped', 'killed' in Delhi: Victim's relatives say accused tried to lure another girl before her

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) A man who allegedly raped and killed a nine-year-old girl and stuffed her body into a suitcase in northeast Delhi's Dayalpur area had also attempted to lure another girl into his flat, located just 50 metres from the victim's residence.

Locals kept a distance from the man, aged around 30 years, who had moved into a flat on the second floor of a five-storey building about a year ago, due to his "criminal" tendencies.

"Some people have heard him beating his wife. Probably, that is the reason she left him," Naushad, the victim's uncle, said.

He added that about 20 days ago, the man, who has a criminal background, had created a ruckus in the area in an inebriated state.

"We have always maintained a distance from him since he appeared suspicious. His brothers are also have similar tendencies and hence, when he tried calling another older girl from the window of his flat to ask for help to open the door , she must have understood (his intentions)," Naushad said.

The victim, a Class-5 student in a government school, had gone to deliver ice to a relative's house nearby around 7 pm on Saturday.

"Her grandmother had asked her to deliver ice to the relative's house, located about 150 metres from her residence, as they did not have a fridge. Little did they know that on her way back, that man would lure her inside by pretending to be locked in his own house," Naushad said.

The girl is survived by her father, an autorickshaw driver, mother, a housewife, and two younger brothers, aged about two years and four years. Her mother went numb seeing her daughter's face with injury marks, but did not cry until she was forced to.

"Her mother's condition is not at all good. She went into deep trauma and did not cry for a long time. We made her cry or else, it would have been worse. Her father is also devastated but he is doing all he can to get her justice," Naushad said.

Locals remembered the victim as a sweet, fun-loving and obedient girl. "Her last rites were performed on Sunday evening. We will remember her as a very sweet girl who would always respect her elders," a local said, adding that they demand a police encounter of the accused, who is absconding.

On Saturday evening, when the girl did not return home for a long time, her parents began searching for her. According to the victim's father, they approached several relatives and neighbours, but no one had seen her after her brief visit to the relative's house.

"She had only gone to deliver ice to our relatives. They said she stayed for five minutes and left. But she never came back. We looked everywhere. Finally, someone told us that she was seen entering a house nearby. That is where we found her in a suitcase," the girl's father said.

He said when he went to the house, it was locked. He broke the lock and entered the house. Inside, he found his daughter stuffed in a bloodstained suitcase.

The family members rushed the girl to a local clinic, but the doctor there asked them to take her to a hospital immediately. At the Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital in Shastri Park, doctors declared her dead, her father said.

A PCR call regarding the incident was received at the Dayalpur police station around 8:40 pm. A police team was immediately dispatched to Gali No. 2, Nehru Vihar, where it learnt that the girl was taken to the hospital by her father, a senior police officer said.

The officer further said that the victim and the accused belonged to the same community and the latter lived near the girl's house. Hospital authorities informed police that the girl was declared dead.

"Prima facie, doctors observed injuries on her face and indicated possible sexual assault," the officer said.

A case has been registered at the Dayalpur police station under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"Multiple teams have been deployed to collect clues and trace the accused. The investigation is being done on priority," the officer said. PTI SSJ RC