The ruthless murder of a two-and-a-half-year-old baby girl in UP’s Aligarh took the entire nation by a shock. The poor little soul was murdered and her body mutilated by the wrongdoers over an unpaid loan of Rs 10,000.
The initial reports indicated that the girl was raped before being murdered by the accused, however, the doctors fail to find any sign of rape on the body.
Aligarh Police has denied that the toddler was raped and acid was poured on her body. The post-mortem report further revealed that the arm and leg of the baby were broken.
Digging a bit deep about the brutalities, the autopsy confirms- ‘liquefied brain’, ‘both eyes tissues loosened’ and ribs were seen separately.
The barbaric murder is now being investigated under the National Security Act.
“We are proceeding with it as an NSA case, we will try to get it to a fast track court. There is no mention of rape or acid in the postmortem report. Two accused have been arrested, five police officials have been suspended,” Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Akash Kulhary said.
The mutilated body of the infant was discovered in a garbage dump three days ago. Senior Superintendent of Police Kulhary added that the girl went missing from Tappal township on May 31 and it was on June 2, police found her body in a garbage dump near her house. The UP government formed an SIT to investigate the case.
“Post-mortem examination has not found any sign of sexual assault. The report confirmed death due to strangulation,” the police officer said.
The two men who were arrested for the murder- Zahid and Aslam, lived less than half a km away and knew the family very well. Police say this is “revenge” and that they left the body at the garbage near their house.
The police say Zahid took a loan of Rs. 50,000 from the girl’s grandfather and still owed him Rs. 10,000, over which the two got into a fight on two days before the child was abducted. Zahid, the girl’s family alleges, had threatened vengeance for his “humiliation”.
On May 30, the child disappeared from outside her home. Her parents, neighbours and relatives began the search operation the whole night before reporting to the police the next morning. Three days later, a woman who picked up trash suddenly screamed when she saw dogs picking over at what appeared like a little body wrapped in a cloth.
A Special Investigation Team has been framed to probe the case, a senior police officer said.
“We are proceeding with it as an NSA case, we will try to get it to a fast track court,” said senior police officer identified as Akash Kulhary, adding that five policemen had been temporarily suspended for not showing any urgency in tracing the missing child.
“We questioned Zahid and it was revealed that the body was hidden at Aslam’s house. The body was later found at the garbage dump,” Mr Kulhary was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted: “The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice.”
“The brutal murder in Aligarh is yet another inhuman, unspeakable crime against an innocent child. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her parents must feel. What has become of us,” tweeted Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi.
Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted: “Just can’t get over the 3-year-old’s murder in Aligarh. How despicable a human the accused must be to have done something as heinous to her. As a society, we continue to fail our children-their safety should be our priority, change of mindset towards our girls a necessity.
Actor Abhishek Bachchan said he was “disgusted and angered”. “How can somebody even think of doing such a thing? Speechless…” he tweeted.
The victim’s father demanded that other family members of the accused be detained as the crime could not have been executed without their discussion or knowledge.
He even threatened that he would start a fast until death if no further arrests were made.