Rape-murder: Tragic rape-murder of 8-year-old girl in Palghar: Ex-Sarpanch’s son arrested | Mumbai news

Mumbai: 21-year-old, son of ex sarpanchwas arrested for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Mohada talaq o Palgar district on Sunday. Police said a preliminary autopsy report from Nashik Civil Hospital confirmed sexual assault.
The accused was arrested the same night after locals claimed to have spotted him following the girl. The unemployed defendant told the police that he was following the girl and tried to lure her with sweets.
The body of the girl, who was declared missing on Sunday, was found late in the evening near the cemetery. The girl visited her friend in the neighborhood to wish her a happy birthday. She returned briefly to tell her parents that a friend had invited her to stay for lunch. With her parents’ permission, she returned to her friend. However, when she did not get home by evening, her mother went to a friend’s house to bring her back. The friend said that the girl did not return to have dinner with them.
The family, together with the villagers, started searching for the missing girl, and later filed a missing person report with the police.
Around 10:30 p.m., the girl was found unconscious in a remote place, some distance from their village. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead upon arrival.
When the girl refused to accompany the young man, telling him that she was going to dinner with a friend, he forcibly took her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her. He then gagged her to death and left her body near the burial ground.
Police are investigating whether the accused planned to bury the body, which was found by villagers who were looking for her. The location of the accused’s mobile phone coincided with the location where the body was found.
The police reported that they are checking whether the suspect was drunk. Police are also investigating whether there was animosity between the families of the suspect and the girl.
Investigations are ongoing to find out whether the accused previously harassed the victim and other girls from the village.
He was convicted under the Poso Act and the BNS for rape and murder. He is in police custody.