Noida: A man arrested on suspicion of raping and strangling a six-year-old girl in Greater Noida’s Ecotech 3 was killed in a police encounter hours later, police said. The accused, a 32-year-old neighbour, was held after the child’s body was found stuffed in a sack and dumped near bushes by a pond. Police alleged he had strangled her and stabbed her with a knife.According to police, the girl was playing outside her house on Friday evening when the accused offered to buy her a chocolate and took her to his house nearby. Her father, a confectioner, was at his shop at the time, while her mother and three siblings were at home. When the girl, the youngest of four siblings and a Class 1 student at a govt school, disappeared, her mother and relatives searched the surrounding area before informing police.Police formed five teams to trace the child and began examining CCTV footage from houses, lanes and roads around the village. One recording showed the girl playing alone in a lane when the accused allegedly called her over, then walked away with her. The clip showed the child pausing, turning back and exchanging words with him before following him.Another recording showed him entering a house with the girl behind him, with no one else visible. Later footage showed him leaving the house carrying a sack on his shoulder, walking past a car, pedestrians and an auto-rickshaw.As the child was not visible in that footage, the family suspected some mischief, and they, along with neighbours, went to the accused’s house, where he was found sleeping, police said. Villagers caught him and allegedly assaulted him before handing him over to the cops.Central Noida DCP Shailendra Singh said the accused was identified and taken into custody after CCTV footage and other evidence linked him to the crime. During interrogation, he allegedly told police that he had dumped the child’s body near a pond. A police team later found the body in bushes inside a sack at the location. Police and forensic teams inspected the spot to collect evidence, while the girl’s autopsy was conducted by a panel of doctors and videographed. Police said sexual assault can be ascertained after the medical and forensic reports come in.During sustained questioning, the accused also told police that he had hidden the knife used in the murder in the green belt near D-Park police post. A police team took him to the location on Saturday to recover the weapon. According to police, he got out of the vehicle and led the team towards bushes, where he allegedly retrieved the knife before suddenly picking up a pistol he had previously concealed there and opening fire at the team.Head constable Ravi Kumar, posted at Ecotech-3 police station, was hit and injured. Police personnel retaliated, and the accused was shot. Both were taken to hospital, where doctors declared the accused dead during treatment. Police said an illegal pistol, three empty cartridges and two live rounds were recovered from the accused.Police said the accused was known to the victim’s family and had been living as a tenant at the house of the girl’s uncle. He worked as a labourer and was allegedly addicted to drugs. The girl’s uncle said his family had gone to offer prayers when the accused allegedly took the child away.The girl’s body was brought home to the village around 5 pm on Saturday, triggering fresh anger among family members and villagers, who demanded strict action against anyone who may have assisted the accused. Residents and family members sat on the village’s main road with the body, causing a traffic jam. Two companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), along with police personnel from several Central Zone stations, were deployed, and senior officials from Kotwali and Greater Noida Zone reached the spot.Following around half an hour of discussions with police officials and local leaders, and assurances of strict legal action, the protesters agreed to remove the body from the road and take it home.Police said the investigation is continuing and that CCTV footage, forensic evidence, post-mortem findings and other material will be examined to establish the complete sequence of events. Sources in the police said the name of another accused has come to light and his involvement is being verified.
