Thane: Men enjoyed fish and rice after gang raping, killing 4-yr-old

Thane: Rural police on Saturday claimed to have solved the murder case of a four-year-old girl from Bhayander, who was kidnapped and found buried in a nearby nullah, by arresting three persons.

According to reports, the men lured the child away with a chocolate, took turns to assault her and then killed and dumped her body in a swamp. What’s worse, they then went off to enjoy a meal of fish and rice.

"It was on January 9, that the victim's parents registered a complaint with Navghar police station that their 4-year-old child was kidnapped by some unknown person from near their house when she was playing," PTI quoted SP (rural) Mahesh Patil as saying.

"In the evening of January 12, the body of the missing girl was found buried in the nullah near Azad Nagar slums. The police got to know that one of the persons acquainted with the family had committed the crime," he said.

The accused were arrested on Friday, said the police. A fourth rape accused is still absconding, police added.

A 24-year-old accused who was known to the family of the victim during interrogation admitted that he had raped the girl and killed her, police said.

They said the accused allegedly took the victim to Azad Nagar, raped her and then gagged her to death. In the post-mortem report there were marks of wounds on the head of the girl, police said.

While the accused was killing the girl his friends dug a pit in the nullah and buried the girl, the officer said, adding, it was when a cat nibbled the arm those nearby came to know about the body was lying in the pit and informed police who exhumed the body.