Guwahati, Jan. 19: The brutal murder of a seven-year-old after alleged gang rape came to light today following the recovery of the victim's body stuffed in a gunny bag at Sonapur on the outskirts the city today.
Three persons have been arrested.
The body was found by villagers beside rail tracks at Jarikuchi, the village of the victim, in Digaru under Sonapur police station.
After the recovery of the body, a crime branch team from Guwahati started investigations along with a dog squad and Sonapur police and arrested Hemanta Das, 25, Bapdhan Das, 26, and Pabindra Das, 25.
Before the police could arrest the trio, they were beaten by an irate mob of around 600 people.
"The villagers had suspected Hemanta's involvement in the crime. The moment our sniffer dogs guided us towards his residence, the villagers dragged him out of his house and started beating him. We had to intervene. Hemanta then blurted out the name of his two friends who were at his house at that time. We arrested the trio. During interrogation, Hemanta confessed to raping the minor and strangulating her to death," a police officer told The Telegraph.
Hemanta runs a liquor den in the village.
The victim's mother told the villagers that the child had gone missing yesterday afternoon after she went out to buy a packet of mouth freshener.
"Her mother informed us at night that her daughter had not returned. We searched for her in and around the village. We also informed the police and a missing report was registered last night," a villager said.
"Preliminary investigations show that Hemanta is the main culprit. However, it can be substantiated only after further interrogation. The three have been booked under Section 376 of the IPC for rape and Section 300 of the IPC for murder, among other charges.