Man held for girl''s murder

Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 4 

The Mohali police today claimed to have solved the murder case of an eight-year-old girl in Kharar with the arrest of the accused within 24 hours of the recovery of the victim’s body yesterday. 

The accused has been identified as Tejinder Pal Singh Sharma (34), who lives in the same locality in which the victim’s family resides.

Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police GS Bhullar said the accused had confessed to the crime during preliminary investigation. 

“The accused took the victim to his house at around 8 pm on the fateful day. He confessed that while attempting rape, the victim fell unconscious following which he strangled her,” said the SSP, adding that after murdering the victim, the accused left the house to campaign for his relative, who had contested the recently held MC elections in the area.

He threw the body in a vacant plot the same night at around 2.30 am, said the SSP 

The girl had gone missing on February 23 at around 8 pm. The accused had also accompanied the family members during their search.

Mohali SP (Detective) GS Grewal, who supervised the entire police operation after the recovery of the victim’s body, said the accused was unmarried and lived with his parents. “He had passed Class XII and was working as a private security guard,” said SP Grewal.

SSP Bhullar said the police had also recovered the victim’s chain and a locket at the behest of the accused. 

He said several police teams, led by SHO-level officers, were deputed to crack the case. “We zeroed in on the accused as he could not give satisfactory answers to the police queries,” said the SSP.

The police have booked the accused on murder and rape charges. “The motive was rape,” said SSP Bhullar. 

Body was infested with maggots

Dr Surinder Singh, senior medical officer at the Kharar Civil Hospital, said the body was infested with maggots and was highly decomposed. “The postmortem report has not ruled out rape. We have sent swabs, blood and the viscera for further chemical examination and a DNA test,” said Dr Surinder Singh. 

Eyebrows raised over search operation

Eyebrows were raised over the police failure to recover the body, which reportedly kept lying in the vacant plot for at least 8 days. “It shows that the police did not conduct a thorough search of the area after the girl went missing,” said an area resident.    

Victim’s kin, residents protest 

Members of the victim's family and residents of the locality staged a protest after the arrest of the accused on Wednesday morning. They were demanding that the accused be handed over to them so that they could teach him a lesson. They also blocked traffic on the Mohali-Kharar highway for around one hour in the afternoon.