NEW DELHI: In a harrowing incident that has shocked the national capital region, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, raped, and murdered after being abducted from a footpath in south Delhi’s Mehrauli area.According to police officials, the harrowing ordeal began early on Monday morning. The young victim, who lived with her family on a footpath in Mehrauli, was allegedly abducted by the perpetrator at around 5am while she was asleep.The case came to light when Delhi Police received a Police Control Room (PCR) call on Monday morning reporting the kidnapping of a minor girl, allegedly by a cab driver.A police team was immediately dispatched to the spot, launching an investigation and arresting one suspect in connection.Investigators initiated an extensive search operation and deployed forensic teams to examine the area. To trace the victim’s movements and identify the suspect, police analyzed footage from multiple closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed across Mehrauli and along routes leading towards Haryana.During the course of the investigation, the victim’s body was recovered from a forested area near the Delhi-Gurgaon border and sent for post-mortem examination.A police source said, “After committing the crime, the accused was returning to the same location, but fled after watching police teams nearby.”The CCTV footage and other technical evidence helped investigators identify and trace the accused.“Through extensive analysis of CCTV footage and local intelligence inputs, our teams successfully tracked down the accused. He was apprehended late last night and is currently in police custody,” a senior police officer said.Delhi Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.Meanwhile, the victim’s family members gathered at the Safdarjung Hospital mortuary on Tuesday, where medico-legal formalities and the post-mortem examination are being conducted to ascertain the exact cause of death and collect crucial forensic evidence.Police are continuing to interrogate the accused to determine whether any other individuals were involved in the crime. Further investigation is underway.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
