6-year-old missing girl found murdered near Hallo Majra

12-year-old boy of the same locality nabbed, rape suspected

Residents block the road at the Hallo Majra light point to protest the murder of the girl, whose body was found in the nearby forest area, in Chandigarh on Saturday. Tribune photo: Vicky

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6

A 12-year-old boy has been apprehended by the police on a charge of murdering a six-year-old girl whose semi-naked body was found dumped in the forest area near the Hallo Majra light point this morning.

The victim went missing on Friday evening. The police suspect that she was raped before being murdered. However, her mother said the girl went for tuition in the morning and returned around 1 pm. “She had her lunch and after watching TV, she went to play near the house,” she said.

She looked for her in the area around 5.30 pm but couldn’t trace her. She started searching for her in the neighbourhood.

The victim’s father, who works at a factory, got to know about the incident from his wife around 7 pm, following which he rushed home. “I also searched for her at various places and later informed the police,” he added.

The police reached the spot and launched a search operation at Hallo Majra. It continued till late night but the girl couldn’t be traced.

The search was resumed in the morning and the police started combing the forest area across the road near the Hallo Majra light point. Soon, the semi-naked body of the victim was found near the cremation ground.

The victim’s face was smashed with a stone. The spot was video-graphed and a forensics team also visited the spot.

The body was shifted to the mortuary of the GMCH-32. Autopsy was conducted. However, the post-mortem detail was not released till the reports last came in.

The police scrutinised the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the area and found that the girl was with a boy, later identified as one of the victim’s neighbours, on a bicycle. Based on the CCTV footage, the boy was apprehended. Meanwhile, a case has been registered at the Sector 31 police station.

Victim was a bright child

“My daughter was a very bright child. She was learning English very quickly. Although her school was closed due to Covid, I arranged tuitions for her so that her education didn’t suffer,” said the victim’s father.

CCTV footage nails suspect

The footage of CCTV cameras installed in the area led to the identification of the suspect who was seen taking the girl towards the Hallo Majra light point on a bicycle.