6-year-old girl gang-raped and murdered in Gaya; 2 arrested: police

A six-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, raped, murdered and abandoned on the banks of the Morhar river in Gaya district of Bihar, police said on Monday.

The girl went missing late on Monday night and her body was found on Tuesday morning. The incident took place in Chitap Khurd village under Amas police station of the district.

A panel of doctors at Magadh Medical College and Hospital conducted an autopsy on her body after police filed charges of kidnapping, gang rape and murder against two people.

According to the report, the two accused kidnapped the victim from her house while she was sleeping and then raped her. After killing the victim, the accused dumped the body near the river to destroy evidence.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Sherghati police station Ajit Kumar said that the victim was sleeping at his mother's house while other family members had gone to a neighbouring house to attend a function.

When the victim's elder sister reached home, she found that the victim was missing. The villagers then launched a manhunt and arrested two suspects, identified as Sandeep Manjhi and Gautam Kumar, who were loitering around the victim's house. The mob beat up the duo before handing them over to the police.

“After interrogation of both the suspects, the naked body of the victim was found in a bush near the bank of river Morhar,” the SHO said. Police filed a case against them under various provisions and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after hundreds of villagers protested outside the local police station demanding the arrival of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) at the crime scene.

Earlier, the Gaya women police station had registered a complaint against the son of former MP Kaliram (Bodh Gaya constituency) and arrested him on charges of hurting the modesty of a mentally ill girl and uploading her picture and video on a social website. The arrested person was identified as Naresh Turi, a political party activist. A complaint filed against him at the Fatehpur police station was later transferred to the women police station based on the statement of the girl's mother.