Prime accused in Uttarkashi rape-murder case arrested

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The prime accused in the rape and killing of a minor girl in Uttarkashi, which had led to a wave of protests across Uttarakhand, has been arrested, police said on Tuesday.

The main accused Mukesh alias Bunty was picked up on Tuesday from Dunda Devidhar in the district and he has confessed to the crime, DIG Ajay Rautela told reporters.

To ward off suspicion, the accused who was known to the victim's family, even participated in protests against the incident, the officer said.

A case has been registered against the accused under sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

Hailing from Lambgaon in Tehri district, the accused who worked as a mule operator in the victim's village, police said.

He disclosed during interrogation that he knew the victim's family who were residents of the same village and would often look for excuses to engage her or her elder sister in a conversation, Rautela said.

He even arrived at their home in an inebriated state at night on a couple of occasions but the girls' mother woke up and turned him out. On the night of August 17, when the victim aged 11 was sleeping with her parents at home, the accused entered into the house after snapping the house's power connection and kidnapped her, the officer said.

He took her to another location and raped her, Rautela said. He then killed the girl and ran away after dumping her body on a bridge near the village, the DIG said. The body of the victim in blood-stained clothes was found the following morning by villagers.

It was on the basis of a statement given by the victim's elder sister that the police team led by IG Sanjay Gunjyal could reach the accused, Rautela said.

Initial reports suggested it was a case of gangrape but the medical report of the girl indicated the crime was committed by one person, he said.

The accused even tried to mislead the investigators by joining the protesters seeking that the culprits be brought to book, police.

The incident had sparked protests in Uttarakhand with the markets in Uttarkashi and Chinyalisaur keeping their shutters down yesterday. Even the priests at the Himalayan shrine of Gangotri had registered their protest yesterday by not performing any 'pujas' on the banks of the Ganga till 1 PM.

Opposition Congress had threatened to hit the streets if the guilty were not brought to justice within a week.

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