Delhi Police officials familiar with the investigation into the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl at a crematorium in Nangal area told news agency ANI that contrary to what the suspects told the victim’s parents, there was no sign of a short circuit in the water cooler. The official said that all the four accused would be charge-sheeted by the end of August.
“No sign of a short circuit in the water cooler. All the four accused will be charge-sheeted by the end of this month,” ANI said quoting the person familiar with the police investigation.
The four accused—Kuldeep Singh, Laxmi Narayan, Radhey Shyam and Salim Ahmad — all of whom worked at the crematorium in Purani Nangal village, near Delhi Cantonment, told the parents the nine-year-old that she died of electrocution when she was fetching water from an electric water cooler installed on the premises on August 1. The four also forcibly cremated the child and allegedly threatened her parents from going to the police.
The four men were arrested after the victim’s parents alleged rape before she was killed. Police booked the four on charges of murder, rape and criminal intimidation, in a case registered under the Indian Penal Code’s sections 302, 376 and 506, in addition to relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and the SC/ST Act.
The mother of the victim had asked her to fetch water from the cooler on the premises of the crematorium, as she often did. The victim’s family, who belong to the impoverished Valmiki community, were acquainted with the accused and they did not suspect any trouble.
When the victim didn’t return home for about half-an-hour, her mother went to the crematorium where one of the accused, Radhe Shyam, told her that her daughter died of electrocution from touching the water cooler. “I saw my daughter lying still on a bench. Her hands and feet were stretched out. Her eyes were closed, her lips were blackish, her nose was bleeding and water was oozing out of her mouth. But there was no mud or dirt on her clothes,” the mother told.
The victim’s parents moved the Delhi high court and sought a court monitored special investigation team to probe into their child’s death. They also alleged delay in the filing of the FIR and sought a judicial enquiry into administrative lapses.
Taking cognisance of the plea, the high court asked the Delhi Police crime branch to file a status report and listed the matter for further hearing on November 8.
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