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Agartala, Oct 12 (IANS) In a heinous crime that has sparked widespread grief and outrage, a 14-month-old infant in Tripura was allegedly raped, murdered and allegedly buried by one of her maternal grandparents. Police gave this information on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Jaynal Uddin (44), was arrested by a Tripura Police team on Sunday from Neelam Bazaar in Assam’s Sribhoomi (earlier Karimganj) and has been brought back to Tripura, a police officer said.
The incident took place on Saturday night when the girl had gone to her maternal uncle’s house with her mother.
Panisagar sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Rahul Balhara said that around 8 pm on Saturday night, family members of the infant raised an alarm when the child, who was taken by his maternal grandfather, did not return for several hours, the officer said.
A police team immediately started a search operation in the area with the help of local people.
Around midnight, the SDPO and officer-in-charge of Panisagar police station reached the spot and after a search, they noticed a patch of newly dug soil near the victim’s house.
“Due to our suspicion we carried out an excavation at the spot which resulted in finding the lifeless body of the child,” SDPO Balhara told the media.
The body was immediately recovered and sent to Panisagar Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death and confirm sexual assault.
The main accused Jaynal Uddin, a resident of North Padmabil Gram Panchayat, who is the maternal uncle of the deceased child’s mother, had fled from the spot after the incident.
On Sunday morning, the child’s grandfather lodged a formal complaint with the police.
Intensive searches were launched at all suspicious places and the accused was nabbed from Neelam Bazaar in Assam’s Sribhoomi district, adjacent to North Tripura district, on Sunday afternoon.
Later a special police team brought the infant back to Tripura.
SDPO Balhera confirmed that thorough investigation and interrogation of the accused is underway.
He said that although allegations of rape and murder have been leveled, final confirmation is awaited from the official post-mortem report.
The gruesome nature of the crime committed by a family member has left the local community in a state of deep shock and grief, and there are demands for strict punishment for the accused.
–IANS
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