Aligarh: Two more arrests were made on Saturday in connection with the murder of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Aligarh. One of the accused is said to be accused Zahid's brother.
"Four people, including main accused Zahid and his wife, have been arrested. Body was wrapped in a cloth belonging to Zahid's wife. We've met victim's family and they've demanded that the accused should be hanged till death. Chargesheet will be filed soon," Aligarh SSP Akash Kulhary. The district magistrate, meanwhile, announced a compensation on Rs 3 lakh for the deceased's family.
According to initial reports, Zahid and Aslam are believed to have killed the girl, while Mehndi and his wife helped the duo. "Initial investigation showed the body was hidden in the stubble, but forensic examination shows the body was hidden at a cool place as the body had blackened. The body could have been kept inside a refrigerator," a source said.
The decomposed body of the two-and-a-half-year-old was found in a garbage dump three days after she was reported missing by her family in Tappal township, police said. The policemen, including a Station House Officer, were suspended for alleged delay in registering the case after the girl was reported missing on May 30, and also for delaying the probe which eventually led to the discovery of her body on June 2, officials said.
The post-mortem examination confirmed death due to strangulation. It has not found any sign of sexual assault but this cannot be ruled out at this stage.
The murder triggered a massive outrage on social media, with political leaders and celebrities tweeting their disgust over the brutality of the crime. Some children also took out a candle-light march in Aligarh.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights sought a report from district authorities and said in New Delhi that it will issue directions to them based on the report.
Replying to questions from reporters in Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said, "The case will be fast-tracked. POCSO will also be included in the FIR. As of now sexual assault is not ruled out." He said vaginal swabs have been sent for forensic examination.
The accused Zahid and Aslam have confessed to killing the girl after her father failed to return Rs 10,000 he had borrowed from them, police said in a statement.
A six-member SIT has been formed to investigate the case and a female inspector had been appointed to carry forward the probe, SSP Kulhari said.
The minor's killing took a political colour on Friday with Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressing shock over the incident and wondering how any human being can treat a child so brutally.
"The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice," he said on Twitter.
His sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too condemned the inhuman act. "The brutal murder in Aligarh is yet another inhuman, unspeakable crime against an innocent child. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her parents must feel. What has become of us," she asked.
BSP supremo Mayawati described the brutal killing as "highly shameful and sad incident". "The Uttar Pradesh government should take strict action immediately to establish the rule of law in the state and put the guilty behind the bars," she said in a statement in Lucknow. Celebrities too expressed their shock and disgust.
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