In a shocking incident in Chennai, the body of a 7.5 year old girl who had gone missing since Sunday evening was recovered three days later.
The girl was last seen playing in the premises of her apartment complex in Mugalivakkam. A complaint was registered in the Mangadu police station by her parents.
Investigating the case, the police on Wednesday arrested a man named Tushyanth, who lives in the same area and works in a BPO.
Speaking to The News Minute, Ravikumar, Inspector of Mangadu police station said, "On Sunday, the girl was playing at a friend's house around 6.15 pm when Tushyanth, 22, called her to his house. His parents and brother had gone for a wedding."
Explaining the motive behind the crime, Ravikumar said, "He tried to molest her and she started screaming. To calm her, he put a bedsheet on her face. She died due to suffocation."
The inspector shared further details about the case: "After she died, he put her in a travel bag and on the way, he bought petrol and burnt her at a nearby highway. All this happened in an hour. She died between 7.15 and 8.30 on Sunday night. He went back to the house."
According to the police, the victim's parents had gone for shopping and had come back to find her missing. They asked the neighbours but nobody knew anything about her whereabouts.
"The accused's family and the girl's family were good friends. The accused asked the girl's parents to file a police complaint for missing. The police complaint was filed around 10 on Sunday night,' said the inspector.
He added that the police went through footage from many CCTV cameras around the house and near the highway.
"In one of the footages, the accused can be seen walking out of the building with a travel bag. When the police had earlier questioned him, he had said that he'd also gone for the wedding. But one of his family members had told the police that he did not go for the wedding," explained the inspector.
On questioning why he'd gone out with a travel bag, the accused confessed to the crime, said Ravikumar.
The police arrested Tushyanth on Wednesday morning.
The victim's family is in a state of shock about the tragic turn of events.