A shocking incident unfolded in Gurugram where a 16-year-old boy reportedly strangled his 9-year-old neighbour and then set her body on fire. The incident occurred at a housing society, Signature Global Solera in Sector 107, on Monday. According to police, the victim and the accused belonged to families residing in different towers of the same society and were known to be on good terms.
The victim, a class 4 student, was alone at home when the accused, a class 10 student, allegedly committed the crime around 11 am. Notably, the mother of the victim was visiting the accused's house at the time of the incident. Initially, the accused tried to mislead investigators by claiming that intruders had entered the house and killed the girl. However, he later confessed to the murder. The police have apprehended the accused, and further investigations are underway to ascertain the motive behind the crime.
Boy strangles girl over jewellery theft
The accused said that he was stealing the jewellery to repay a loan of Rs 20,000. He told police that he did not want to kill her but since the girl refused to be quiet, he strangled her as he was afraid of getting caught, a senior investigating officer said. Police said an FIR has been registered on the matter at Rajendra Park police station. According to the police, on Monday morning the father of the victim went to the office, while the mother and brother went to the house of the accused, which was in another tower in the same society.
What accused said to police?
Seeing the girl's mother in his house, the accused left the house saying he was going out for tuition but arrived at the victim's house. The accused told police that he rang the bell and the girl, who was alone in the house, opened the door. He said he sat on the sofa and asked her for water and later also helped with her school homework, a senior investigating officer said. When she went to the toilet, he allegedly found keys to the locker from the drawer of the bed and stole some jewellery, the IO said. This is when the girl came out from the toilet and she protested seeing the jewellery. The boy threw the jewellery out from the balcony but the girl continued protesting, which is when he starts hitting her, the officer said.
Accused taken into custody
The officer said the boy then allegedly strangled her. After this, he allegedly set her body on fire using camphor from the home temple. After some time, the girl's mother rang the doorbell but no one opened the door. Soon after, she saw smoke coming out from the flat and she raised the alarm, which is when other residents gathered at the spot, the officer said. Later, they entered the flat from the balcony and found the girl dead and in half-burned condition while the boy was sitting in a corner, police said. Police said the boy tried to mislead them, claiming that two thieves entered the house and also thrashed him badly. He was then taken into custody and he later confessed to the murder, they said.
(With PTI inputs)
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