5-year-old raped and strangled under flyover

MUMBAI: A 5-year-old girl was raped and strangled under a flyover outside the main gate of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Borivli, in the early hours of Sunday. The police said her body was found around 7am and bore rat bite marks and bruises. This is the third rape of such a young slum or pavement dwelling girl in 11 days. The culprit is at large. 

The girl lived under the flyover, which is on Western Express Highway, with her labourer parents, four sisters and two brothers. Her father is on a visit to his native place in Rajasthan. The police said her body was found at a distance from the family's dwelling place.

An officer said the culprit must have picked her up after midnight, when the family went to sleep.

In the morning, her mother, while preparing to go to work, noticed that one of her daughters was missing. She started looking around for her and soon found the body, wrapped in clothes.

The police said a group of men used to live at the place where the body was found. The police are questioning pavement dwellers in the area if the men, who left a few days ago, are connected with the crime. An officer said footage from CCTV cameras in the area have been collected for clues. He said the crossing under the flyover is a busy junction from where private buses leave for other cities. Around Saturday midnight, the area became crowded because of Ganpati immersion processions. But the place where the body was found is an isolated end of the flyover, where several vehicles are dumped—ideal for a crime to be committed.

"It is difficult for us to keep corners under flyovers free of miscreants or pavement dwellers. The authorities concerned should fence off such areas and install lights. An idea is to create plant nurseries or gardens to discourage unwanted elements," said an officer.

The Kasturba police station has registered a case against an unknown person under the Indian Penal Code's sections related to rape and murder, and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. A police officer said that though a case of rape has been registered, the post mortem report is awaited.

Via Times of India