On October 7, the mutilated body of a seven-year-old girl was found on the roof of the mosque inside a gunny bag at Muradnagar in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The girl had been missing since Saturday, and according to the Hindustan Times, her parents had filed an FIR for kidnapping by unidentified persons. The police did an autopsy on the body and found proof that she was raped and then murdered. The SSP while speaking to Hindustan Times, stated that the accused will be charged under sections of murder and rape of the Indian Penal code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident
According to the Hindustan Times, the girl had gone missing at around 12.45 p.m on October 6. The girl’s father said, “My daughter and my younger son had gone to a local market to buy fruit juice on Saturday afternoon. While my son returned home, my daughter did not. In the footage from the CCTV camera installed in the colony, she is seen walking away from the house but the camera could not capture any more of her movements. We searched for her everywhere, including in the mosque, until 3 am on Sunday. But she could not be traced. In the meantime, we also complained to the police.”
He also said that during the early morning prayers on Sunday, at around 5:45 am the people who were offering nawaz at the mosque saw a few monkeys creating a ruckus on the rooftop, and some people went up to shoo off the monkeys and saw a hand sticking out. Then the father ran up and saw that it was his daughter. “…I also ran upstairs and found that it was my daughter. We have long-standing enmity with our neighbours and suspect their involvement. We have told the police about that as well.”
Family dispute might have led to rape
The Senior Superintendent of Police, Vaibhav Krishna, speaking to The Logical Indian said, “The family has filed a report against four people. The case has been registered against four people and is in progress. We are yet to verify the accusations of them being local counsellors. Haji Aizaz and his brother Nausad along with two others have been accused of the crime. The age group of the persons who have been alleged to have committed the crime is between 45 to 50.”
The SSP also said, “The dispute between the father and the accused has a link to elections. There have been fights between the parties, about three months ago too but we believe it is a different issue with no relations to this one. There is no communal tension in the area because of this issue as such.” Police have been deployed in the area to keep the situation calm.
The victim’s father speaking said that his cousin, whom he supported during the 2012 local body elections, had lost against the suspects. He said, “Since my cousin was contesting, I accompanied him for canvassing. My neighbours tried to pressurise me against doing that, but I continued to support him. Three months ago, they severely beat up my cousin and we lodged a police complaint. Thereafter, elders from the locality asked us to reach a compromise.”
He further said that their family was invited to their house for some occasion but they refused to visit which further soured their relationship. As of now, the suspects, including the councillor are on the run.
The Logical Indian take
The Logical Indian condemns all kinds of sexual violence. Due to a family feud, a little girl lost her life. Reportedly, around 33,000 sexual offence cases were registered under POCSO act in India for the year 2017. The data also says that Uttar Pradesh tops the list for the highest number with around 6,782 cases registered. Whoever might be the culprit, we hope that he is dealt with strict punishment.
