NOIDA: The main accused in the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Greater Noida had allegedly committed two similarly horrific crimes in 2017 — the sexual assault and murder of a 70-year-old woman and the sodomising and killing of a nine-year-old boy — before spending eight years in jail and securing bail in 2025, an investigation into his criminal history has revealed.Balraj, who was killed in a police encounter on Aug 29, had allegedly been on the police radar for nearly two decades and had a long history of violent crime, theft and offences under the Arms Act.Police said Balraj was arrested in 2017 after he allegedly raped and murdered a 70-year-old woman in Tilpata village. Around the same period, he was accused of sodomising and killing a nine-year-old boy near Sheorajpur.He remained in jail for eight years before being granted bail in 2025. Soon after his release, Balraj found work as a cattle caretaker at a house in Greater Noida and befriended the family of the six-year-old girl, who lived nearby.The girl disappeared on Aug 28 while playing outside her home. Her family searched for her unsuccessfully until CCTV footage allegedly showed Balraj taking her into a house and later emerging carrying a sack.Police said Balraj confessed after his arrest that he killed the child because she was “shouting in pain”. He allegedly stuffed her body into a sack and dumped it near a pond.
70-Yr-Old Woman & 9-Yr-Old Boy Were Sexually Assaulted & Killed 8 Yrs ago; Balraj Got Bail In 2025, Found Caretaker’s Job
An autopsy later confirmed sexual assault. An FIR was registered against Balraj under sections related to kidnapping, murder, disappearance of evidence and rape of a child under 12, along with provisions of the POCSO Act.Police subsequently arrested Tausif, the owner of the house where the alleged crime took place. Additional DCP (Central Zone) Swatantra Kumar Singh said Balraj had deliberately taken the girl to Tausif’s house. The two had reportedly become friends in jail, and Balraj had been doing odd jobs for Tausif for the past six months.Though Tausif was not at home on the day of the crime, he was arrested on Tuesday under BNS Section 3(5), dealing with common intention.Balraj was shot during an alleged police encounter on Aug 29 while he was being taken from Ecotech III to a green belt near the D-Park police post to recover the knife used in the murder.Police alleged that he retrieved a pistol hidden at the spot and opened fire at the police team, injuring head constable Ravi Kumar. Police retaliated, and Balraj was shot. He later died during treatment.Originally from Bulandshahr, Balraj’s first major brush with the law came in 2006, when he was arrested in Loni, Ghaziabad, in a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He was convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with the time already spent in custody adjusted against his sentence.After his release in 2014, Balraj allegedly returned to crime. Police records show that he was booked in several theft cases in Surajpur, Dankaur and Sector 20 between 2014 and 2016. Some cases also involved charges under the Arms Act.But police said the nature of his alleged crimes became far more violent in 2017.A police officer described Balraj as a “serial rapist” who allegedly targeted victims unable to defend themselves. He was also accused of assaulting animals, police said.Balraj is survived by two brothers, who police said had long disowned him following disputes within the family.From a nine-year-old boy and a 70-year-old woman in 2017 to a six-year-old girl in 2026, police said Balraj’s alleged criminal history revealed a disturbing pattern that resurfaced soon after his release on bail.
