4-yr-old girl raped, murdered; accused held

Sundargarh: A man was arrested and forwarded to a local court by Town Police on Thursday for raping and murdering a four-year-old girl after kidnapping the kid from her home on October 21 evening.

The accused, Sanjib Kerketta, entered the four-year-old victim’s home and abducted her while sleeping on October 21 evening. Though some locals chased Kerketta carrying the girl child smelling something fishy about his behaviour, he managed to escape.

Four days after the kidnapping of the victim, some people found a decomposed body of a girl child at an under-construction house.

As suspicion grew about Kerketta, local cops brought him to the police station and grilled to elicit information about the incident.

Prashant Kumar Mohanty, SDPO, Sundargarh Sadar, said, “The accused has admitted to the girl child murder. Besides, he said he had kidnapped the four-year-old with a rape motive.”

Mohanty further stated, “Kerketta is a history-sheeter and was arrested and forwarded to court earlier in another rape and robbery cases.”

Also read: Shame! 4-yr-old girl raped in Angul

Meanwhile, locals have demanded a stringent punishment against the accused.

Sachindra Kumar Biswakarma, a social activist, said, “Undoubtedly the incident is a shameful one. We demand the accused should be given capital punishment.”