A 5-year-old girl on Friday morning was found raped and murdered at a construction site in south Goa's Vasco. Following the incident the police has rounded up 20 suspects for questioning, a senior police official told news agency PTI.
The minor was found unconscious at the construction site located in Vadem area in the early hours of the day after which she was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital. However, she was declared dead on arrival by the doctors, Sunita Sawant, Superintendent of Police (South) Sunita stated.
"The girl's dead body has been examined by the police surgeon and a post-mortem has been conducted. The post-mortem has confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted after which she was murdered by strangling... We have rounded up nearly 15-20 labourers working in the building," Sawant stated.
After the postmortem reports confirmed rape and murder due to strangulation, the Vasco Police registered a case on behalf of the state of sexual assault and murder under sections 376, 302 of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POSCO), and also under the Goa Children Act, the senior police official stated. Further probe into the matter is currently underway.
The victim’s parents are said to be migrant labourers from West Bengal, a report by the Indian Express stated.
As per the report the girl’s father was on duty on Friday night and his five-year-old daughter was with him. At around 12.15 am, he asked her to return to their house, where her mother was asleep.
However, when he returned to the house at 2 am from work, their daughter was missing.
"The family later found the girl’s body behind a building near their house and rushed her to a hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival,” the report quoted a police officer as saying.
ALSO READ| MP: 6-Year-Old Boy Falls Into 60-Ft Deep Borewell In Rewa, Rescue Op Underway