Mumbai: Juhu Police have recorded the statements of the eyewitnesses and sent the clothes of the accused as well as those of the nine-year-old girl, who was raped and killed last week in Nehru Nagar area of Vile Parle for forensic tests.
During the course of investigation, the accused, Devendra Vadivel, aka Gundappa (35), revealed he killed the girl amid scuffle and had indulged in necrophilia. Police are gathering more witnesses and circumstantial evidences to build a stronger case against Gundappa.
According to police sources, Gundappa said he had kidnapped the girl on the evening of April 4 when she was on her way to buy tea and biscuits. The accused lured the girl to a secluded open house in the area, where he smothered her to keep her quiet and strangled her, which eventually led to her death.
“Gundappa indulged in necrophilia on the same evening he kidnapped her and then allegedly banged her head against the floor, which was primarily suspected to be the cause of death. Soon after raping her, Gundappa left her body in the open house and returned to his residence.” When the girl failed to return home until the wee hours of April 4, her family began a search operation and approached Juhu police.
Several police teams immediately fanned out to locate the girl and checked at least 60 bachelor pads of history-sheeters. Meanwhile, at 2.30am on April 5, Gundappa sneaked out of his house and dumped the victim’s body in the gutter between two stalls of the public toilet, said a police officer.
Police have already recorded the witnesses’s statements and are gathering more evidence in connection with the case. “We are trying to get as many circumstantial and physical evidence as we can to build a strong case. The viscera of the girl, clothes of the accused and the girl have been sent to the forensic laboratories for examination,” an officer said.