Police recover remains of girl ‘killed’ in Amreli 4 yrs ago, nab 3

According to the police, no further leads were available in the case, except a tip that the missing girl was in touch with a man from her village in Amreli. Picking up that lead, police detained a 23-year-old from Junagadh.

“The man told us that he had lured the girl to have a relationship with him. On August 18, 2016, he and his friend, also a resident of Amreli, made a plan to elope with the girl. The girl was made to sit on the motorcycle of the accused and the trio fled the village. However, after a while, the girl refused to travel further and demanded that she be dropped back home,” said Nirlipt Rai, superintendent of police, Amreli.

“The duo then took her to a jungle area near Bhayavadar village in Amreli and tried to convince the girl who did not budge. Fearing that she may disclose his identity to her parents, the main accused caught hold of her as his friend choked her to death. They then hid the body in a bushy area and returned home,” Nirlipt Rai, superintendent of police, Amreli.

“Later in the night, the accused and two of his friends went back to the spot where the body was hidden. They dug a hole and buried the body over there. After returning home, the accused disposed of the equipment used to dig the ground,” Rai added.

After the accsued confessed to have committed the crime, a team of Amreli Police in the presence of experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory and sub-divisional magistrate recovered remains of the girl from the crime spot. The evidence has been sent for FSL tests.

The three accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code sections for murder, abduction, destruction of evidence, rape and sections of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

“The main accused is engaged in fabrication work and had shifted to Jungadh. He has been arrested and a three-day remand has been given by a special POCSO court in Savarkundla. Two other have also been detained,” added Rai.