7-Yr-Old Odia Girl Raped & Murdered in Surat; Accused Apprehended

Surat (Gujarat): A minor girl from Odisha was raped and murdered in Gujarat’s Surat. The Gujarat police have arrested the accused today.

The accused was identified as Mukesh alias Chimanlal Panchal. He was arrested by the Chowk Bazar Police Station.

According to sources, a 7-year-old girl from Odisha residing at Tirupati Nagar society in Surat had gone missing from her residence on December 7.  They lodged a complaint with the Chowk Bazar police station.

According to the complaint, the girl was playing outside her house. She did not return home after an hour, her mother started searching for her.

Acting on the tip, different police teams started investigations into the incident. They found one of the houses in the society locked. After breaking the main door of the house, they found a body hidden in a sack below the bed.

The family members identified the body, which was later sent to the Civil Hospital for autopsy. It was found that the victim was raped before being murdered.

“The neighbour raped the minor girl on the pretext of giving her some money. He murdered her after the rape and dumped the body below the bed inside his house. Later, he fled from the spot after locking the main door of the house,” informed Surat Police.

As Mukesh was involved in several criminal cases registered in different police stations, he could be nabbed by Surat Police through surveillance and intelligence inputs.