MUMBAI: Two days after the decomposed body of an 8-year-old girl from Potters had been found in a vacant room near her house, a 14-year-old boy was apprehended from his village in Jalnaand the boy’s father arrested for the child’s murder while the boy’s mother was detained for questioning. While injury marks had been found on the girl’s body, the police have so far not hinted at sexual abuse.
The girl, a class 3 student, had gone missing from her Vanyachapada home three days before the body was recovered. She had gone out to play after returning from school. She had also taken some money from her father to buy ice cream.
However, when the girl did not return home until late evening, a search was launched around the locality. Her father had later filed an abduction case at Pelhar police station. Later, the family had put up posters of the missing girl around the vicinity and announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for information on her. On Monday, her body was found in a locked room stuffed in a plastic bag, with the legs tied with a belt.
The police said that the 14-year-old class 9 student, who is the prime suspect in the case, had murdered the girl in his room in a chawl.The teenage boy’s father, who works as an electrician at a film studio, had learnt about the murder and, in a bid to save his son, helped his son move the body to the vacant room, the police said, adding that the body was kept in the vacant house for two days even as the boy’s family joined in the search for the girl. Right beside this vacant house, the girl’s family had taken a room on rent.
The finger of suspicion pointed to the 14-year-old boy as he was found missing since the body had been discovered on Monday. When his parents were questioned, they initially gave evasive replies. The boy’s parents later confessed to the murder and told the police that their son had been sent to their village in Jalna.
A police team left for Jalna and brought the boy to the city on Wednesday.
The preliminary investigation has suggested that the two families often had disputes over domestic matters. The reason for the murder has not been ascertained, the police said.
Police sources said that while sexual abuse has not been established, the autopsy report is still awaited.
The girl’s family, along with their neighbours, marched to the police station on Wednesday, demanding strict action against the accused. The family members of the girl also alleged that they were often ridiculed by the teenager boy’s family.
The girl, a class 3 student, had gone missing from her Vanyachapada home three days before the body was recovered. She had gone out to play after returning from school. She had also taken some money from her father to buy ice cream.
However, when the girl did not return home until late evening, a search was launched around the locality. Her father had later filed an abduction case at Pelhar police station. Later, the family had put up posters of the missing girl around the vicinity and announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for information on her. On Monday, her body was found in a locked room stuffed in a plastic bag, with the legs tied with a belt.
The police said that the 14-year-old class 9 student, who is the prime suspect in the case, had murdered the girl in his room in a chawl.The teenage boy’s father, who works as an electrician at a film studio, had learnt about the murder and, in a bid to save his son, helped his son move the body to the vacant room, the police said, adding that the body was kept in the vacant house for two days even as the boy’s family joined in the search for the girl. Right beside this vacant house, the girl’s family had taken a room on rent.
The finger of suspicion pointed to the 14-year-old boy as he was found missing since the body had been discovered on Monday. When his parents were questioned, they initially gave evasive replies. The boy’s parents later confessed to the murder and told the police that their son had been sent to their village in Jalna.
A police team left for Jalna and brought the boy to the city on Wednesday.
The preliminary investigation has suggested that the two families often had disputes over domestic matters. The reason for the murder has not been ascertained, the police said.
Police sources said that while sexual abuse has not been established, the autopsy report is still awaited.
The girl’s family, along with their neighbours, marched to the police station on Wednesday, demanding strict action against the accused. The family members of the girl also alleged that they were often ridiculed by the teenager boy’s family.