Aligarh: In a shocking incident, a two-and-a-half year old girl was strangled to death and her body was mutilated after her father allegedly failed to repay a loan of Rs 10,000. Two of the accused have been arrested, police said.
The incident took place in Tappal town here in Uttar Pradesh. According to reports, the girl's body was found on June 2 in a dumping ground near her house, three days after she went missing.
Reportedly, the mutilated body was discovered after a pack of stray dogs had been spotted carrying what appeared to be human body parts.
According to the police, the two accused, identified as Zahid and Aslam, were neighbours of the girl who was murdered.
Initial investigations suggest a case of personal enmity as the police found evidence of a few monetary dealings. The murder is suspected to have been committed over an argument regarding a sum of money given as loan.
"A case of kidnapping was registered on May 31. The accused have been arrested and they have confessed to the crime. It was a case of personal enmity and post-mortem examination has not found any sign of sexual assault. The report confirmed death due to strangulation. The accused are in jail now," said Senior Superintendent of Police Aligarh, Akash Kulhari.
Kulhari said that in view of the gravity of the crime, proceedings have begun to charge the duo under the stringent National Security Act. He said a process has also started to follow this case through a fast track court.
The victim's father has demanded that other family members of the accused be arrested as the crime could not have been carried out without their knowledge.
He threatened that he would start a fast unto death from tomorrow if no further arrests were made.
Security measures at Tappal township, 50 kilometers from the district headquarters, have been tightened as a precautionary step after tension mounted there on Wednesday.
