Kidnapped 7-yr-old boy murdered for resisting sexual assault bid

New Delhi: In a brutal case, a seven-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted, murdered and later his body was thrown in the drain by a 21-year-old man who resides near the victim's house in Harkesh Nagar, Okhla in South East Delhi. The accused has been arrested by Delhi Police three days after the boy went missing.

The victim's body was recovered from a drain, eaten by animals three days after the incident. The 7-year-old boy went missing on Monday at around 2 pm when both his parents who work as daily wagers were out for work. The family themselves started a search but when they were unable to trace the boy they went to the police station to lodge a complaint. "When we could not find the boy we went to police station to lodge the complaint. However, the police were unable to trace the boy until he was found dead in a drain," said Asha, aunt of the deceased boy.

Police said that though they were quick to register a kidnapping case but despite carrying out extensive search in the locality the boy couldn't be traced. "We even carried out announcements in the local temples and the adjoining areas. During the course of investigation, it was revealed that the boy was last seen with a 21-year old-man Sandeep, a neighbour. We zeroed in on Sandeep and started looking for him," said Chinmoy Biswal, DCP South East.

What made police more suspicious was the fact that Sandeep was absconding since the day the boy went missing. The police immediately made several teams to work on several leads they gathered about Sandeep. Locals say that Sandeep supplies illicit liquor in the area. "Our team traced Sandeep to his relative's house in Noida. During sustained interrogation, he broke down and confessed that he had kidnapped and murdered the boy on the very day of his missing only when he resisted his attempt to sexually molest him," said Chinmoy Biswal.

The police then took Sandeep to the drain near the railway tracks in Okhla Phase 3 on Thursday from where the body was recovered. Accordingly, Section 302 of IPC and 10 of POCSO Act was added by Delhi police. Accused was produced in the court and remanded to judicial custody till April 19.