According to police, the man, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, had been visiting a relative in the locality for the last one week. (Representational Image)
A three-year-old girl was brutally raped and murdered in Gurgaon on Sunday, with doctors who conducted her autopsy on Monday afternoon saying that they found a “10-cm-long wooden stick” inside her private parts.
The child had been missing from her home since Sunday morning, said police, adding that a 20-year-old man from the same slum cluster is the prime suspect. According to police, the man, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, had been visiting a relative in the locality for the last one week.
“The cause of death was a head injury and excessive internal bleeding. She has been sexually assaulted. We also found a 10-cm-long wooden stick inside her private parts,” said Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post-mortem.
“We also found a deep depressed fracture on her skull, inflicted by something like a brick or a stone. There were multiple other injuries on her body as well, but the head injury and excessive internal bleeding were the causes of her death,” he said.
According to police, the incident came to light around 8.30 am on Monday, when a group of labourers discovered the child’s naked body in a vacant room and alerted police.
Her parents said the phone call they received, directing them to reach the spot and identify the body, was the culmination of a frantic 18-hour search.
“My wife and I had left her at home under the supervision of our 12-year-old son on Sunday, while we went to work,” said the girl’s father, a labourer. The child’s mother is a domestic help.
The couple moved to the city around a year ago, bringing with them two of their four children. According to the girl’s father, her brother began watching television around 11 am on Sunday, while she ventured outside to play with other children.
“It was only when my wife returned home at 3 pm that she discovered our daughter was missing. Children playing with her told us she had gone with the accused, who lured her with a chocolate and a Rs 10 note,” he said.
After failing to track down the child, the family approached police in the evening. “At the time, they told us our case fell under the jurisdiction of another police station. We were not aware of its location, so we returned home for the night,” said the girl’s father. Police, however, denied the claims and said they never received a complaint from the family.
The next morning, around 8 am, the family claims to have contacted the PCR to ask where they need to go. “They sent an officer to accompany us to the station. We received a call on our way, stating that a body had been found, and asking us to go and identify it,” the father said.
Gurgaon police said they have formed four teams to probe the incident. “Personnel from the relevant police station rushed to the spot and an FSL team was summoned,” said Subhash Boken, PRO of Gurgaon police.
“Investigation so far indicates the accused lived in the victim’s neighbourhood. He has been identified.” The FIR has been registered under IPC section 302 (murder) and the POCSO Act.