A 19-year-old hardened criminal, who had raped and murdered nine minor girls in Delhi, Gurugram, Gwalior and Jhansi, has been arrested by the Gurugram Police after they found his involvement in the brutal rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Gurugram Sector 66 on November 11. The girl’s body was dumped in Gurugram Sector 66.
The accused confessed to raping and killing three minor girls in Gurugram, four in Delhi, one in Gwalior and Jhansi each.
The accused identified as 19-year-old Sunil Kumar, a casual labourer, was hiding in his native village in Jhansi district. Meticulous probe by a 15-member police team tracked his movements and nabbed him on Monday, said a senior police official.
He was produced before a local court on Tuesday and sent to eight days of police custody.
Kumar had lured the child with sweets, took her to an empty room at a labourers’ colony in Sector 66. The autopsy report revealed that she was subjected to brutality during rape causing severe injuries to her private parts.
Police said Sunil has confessed to the crime. He said he murdered the girl as she could have identified him.
A team of 15 police personnel led by sub-inspector (SI) Raj Kumar had gone to Gwalior on Friday after a tip-off that accused might visit his relative’s house.
On Sunday, police got CCTV footage from Gwalior where the accused was seen having dinner at a religious community kitchen near a temple on Friday. On Monday, they received a tip-off from a person who claimed to have spotted Sunil having lunch at a religious community kitchen around 2 pm in Jhansi.
Later the accused was arrested on Monday afternoon from a village in his native Jhansi district.
“Sunil used to eat at community kitchens, sleep on the roads and did not use mobile phone, the police said, adding that he also did not contact his family over this period.
“We recovered some money from his possession and we are investigating the source of the money,” said Sumit Kuhar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime). “He was also involved in five cases of rape and murder in which two he committed in Gurugram and four in Delhi. He used to target minor girls who came to community kitchens without their parents.”
A case under relevant section of the Indian Penal Code, and POCSO Act had been registered at Sector 65 police station. Police had launched a massive manhunt for the accused with 70 teams comprising 1,200 police personnel round-the-clock on combing operations and raids in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
