Bahraich (UP), May 18: A man was arrested following an encounter in connection with the murder of his eight-year-old niece in Bahraich district’s Mathura village, police said on Monday.
The accused, Arun Kumar, who was on the run, was attempting to flee to Nepal when he was arrested on Sunday, police said.
During interrogation, Kumar allegedly confessed to his crime and revealed that he had hidden his clothes at the crime scene in Alinagar village, following which he was taken there to recover them, police said.
But upon reaching the murder site, he attempted to escape, Superintendent of Police (SP) Vishwajeet Srivastava said.
Police then cornered Kumar at Sohbatia Mor, near the Imamganj embankment, late that night. When ordered to surrender, Kumar fired at the police team, who then retaliated in self-defence, following which he sustained a gunshot wound on his leg, Srivastava added.
The murder case came to light on the night of May 15, when the class 3 student went missing from her home.
Acting on a complaint filed by the family members, a case was registered, and a search operation was initiated.
On May 16, the child’s body was recovered from a maize field located near her home.
Superintendent of Police Srivastava said injury marks on the child’s neck led them to believe that she was murdered, and added that a post-mortem confirmed that she was strangled to death, but it ruled out sexual assault.
During the investigation, police said they found Arun Kumar, the child’s paternal uncle, suspicious and arrested him subsequently.
After the encounter, Kumar, who sustained leg injuries, was admitted to the Shivpur Community Health Centre (CHC). A country-made pistol was recovered from his possession.
Circle Officer (CO) Pawan Kumar said the accused is the distant paternal uncle of the girl, and added that they are attempting to ascertain the motive behind the murder.
According to villagers, the deceased child, identified as Pooja, is the daughter of Arvind, who works as a daily wage labourer in Mumbai. Pooja studied at the local village school.
It is alleged that there was a long-standing feud between the victim’s family and the accused.
