Rickshaw-puller is not mentally unstable: Victim’s family

A day after a one-and-a half-year-old girl was brutally murdered by a rickshaw-puller at a temple in West Delhi’s Ranhola area, the grieving family members of the victim alleged that the accused, Amit Kumar was not mentally unstable. 

“We are in a state of shock. Amit started living with his elder sister and mother near our house three months ago. Unemployed, he never interacted with anyone and idled away his time taking drugs,” said the victim’s father. Meanwhile, the police have ruled out the possibility of a sexual assault on the child. “In the preliminary medical report, we have gathered that the child was not sexually assaulted by the accused,” said Vijay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West).

Investigation into the murder of the girl child has revealed that the accused is mentally unstable. During questioning, he disclosed that since his house was next to the victim’s house, he often had quarrels with her family,” said a senior police official. 

A senior investigator said: “During questioning, Amit also revealed that three days before he killed the girl, he had a heated argument with the mother of the victim. In a fit of anger, she called him kutta (dog). He bore a grudge against her after that and decided to take revenge.” On Monday afternoon, 28-year-old Amit Kumar, a rickshaw-puller allegedly beat the girl to death, claiming that she was possessed by spirits.

According to the police, Kumar took the minor girl from her house at around 11.15 am. He took her to a temple 100 metres away from her house where he allegedly smashed her head against the floor injuring her grievously.

Police said that the girl’s parents, who work as labourers in the nearby area, were in the meantime, searching for their daughter in the area and had also made a PCR call.

A senior cop said that the father of the child found her lying on the temple floor and took her to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead.