Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In the aftermath of the brutal rape and murder of a 5-year-old girl in a multi-storeyed building of Shahjehanabad area, Free Press took stock of the locality on Friday. The residents of the multi, as well as the parents of the victim girl, still harbour resentment against the police. They claimed that the multi is home to many anti-social elements and listed criminals, however, the police have turned a blind eye to their wrongdoings.
One of the residents, Vinayak Sejwar, said that illegal activities, such as gambling, consuming liquor in the open is a common sight, while incidents of molestation in broad daylight is a regular affair at the multi. His claims were supported by several other residents too, who wishing not to be named, said that the police have been informed numerous times about the same, but to no avail.
It is noteworthy that on Thursday late night, CM Mohan Yadav taking cognisance of the incident had directed the officials concerned to take the strictest action possible against the accused key Atul, as well as his mother Basanti and sister Chanchal, who assisted him in destroying the evidence and concealing the crime.
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Foul smell mistaken for dead mice
A resident of the multi, Swaminathan Sahu, who resided on the same floor as that of the key accused Atul, told Free Press that on Thursday morning, he smelled something foul. The police, who were already present on the scene, again inspected all the flats in the building, and found dead mice in three of the houses.
The house of the key accused Atul was also inspected. The police said that one of the rooms was locked, and his sister Chanchal also showed a dead mouse to the police to conceal the crime. She even told the police she had mopped the floor with a phenyl solution, and the smell would ward off. Even after mopping the floor, when the smell persisted, the cops broke into the locked room, and discovered the girl lying dead inside the water tank.
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Accused had six criminal cases
One of the members of the SIT, Umesh Pal Singh Chouhan, said that the key accused, Atul had abducted the girl, raped her, and strangled her to death within 35 minutes. He placed the girl’s body inside the water tank after Basanti and Chanchal suggested that he do so.
Chouhan added that Atul has six criminal cases pertaining to molestation and theft against him. “He had moved to the multi a month ago, and was addicted to intoxication. He used to sit idle at home,” Pal said.