Last Updated on October 26, 2020 at 10:35 pm
A 20-year-old boy has been arrested in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab for rape and murder of a five year old child. The victim and her five elder sisters treated him like a brother and even used to tie him a rakhi because they had no real brother. Their family of the victim migrated from Bhagalpur district of Bihar.
Surpreet, accused, and his 80-year-old grandfather, Surjit Singh, were arrested after a half-burnt body of a girl was found in a building owned by the accused. The girl was about to turn 6 on November 28 next month. Both have been booked under charges of murder, mitigating evidence, SC/ST act and POCSO.
The victim’s 40-year-old father and her sisters used to often work in Surpreet’s fields and home. Both the families have known each other for almost two decades. On the afternoon of 21 October, an elder sister of the victim was playing with the five-year-old girl. Their mother had left for a nearby shop and their sisters were off to work in neighbour’s houses.
The nine-year-old elder sister told the family that Surpreet had taken the child saying that he would buy her biscuits. When he did not return with her, the victim family was told by Surpreet’s family that they had no knowledge of her whereabouts. The victim family kept searching for her even in the near villages. Around 5 PM, Surpreet’s grandfather visited their house and said that the girl’s body was in their building and she had set herself fire.
Surpreet was seen by a woman with the victim and he had said that he was taking her to his home for tuition. CCTV Camera footage by a shop also confirms that Surpreet was carrying her.
The victim was the youngest daughter of the six. All of her sisters are born in Punjab and fluent in Punjabi. While two most oldest never went to school, others are studying in Government primary school. The victim went to anganwadi. The family lives in a two-room accommodation owned by a NRI and pays Rs 500 per month. There have also been talks of Surpreet suffering from mental problems.
