Gurugram: A 16-year-old boy, who strangulated a 9-year-old girl to death and tried to burn her body in Gurugram on July 1, has revealed that he also tried to sexually assault the minor victim before killing her, the police said on Friday.
A senior police officer said that Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been added to the case after the accused’s shocking confession.
According to the police, they received a call at around 10.45 a.m. on July 1 informing that a minor girl had been assaulted by a teenage boy who stayed in her neighbourhood in Sector 107 under the Rajendra Park police station.
The boy had gone to the girl’s house when her mother and brother were at the suspect’s home for some work.
According to the police, the victim girl had gone to the toilet when the boy allegedly tried to steal jewellery from the house. When the girl caught the suspect red-handed, she tried to raise an alarm.
However, the boy pushed the girl onto the bed and strangled her before setting her on fire with the help of white naphthalene balls, the police said.
After hearing the screams of the girl, the neighbours reached the spot but by then the victim had succumbed to her injuries.
The juvenile initially claimed that two thieves had entered the house and killed the girl, but later confessed to the murder.
“The boy kept changing his statement to mislead the police but eventually disclosed the truth. He also confessed that he tried to sexually assault the girl before killing her,” an officer said.
During questioning, the juvenile also said that he lost over Rs 20,000 in an online gaming app.
“He had borrowed Rs 20,000 from his friends and had to return the money on July 1. To repay the amount, he stole jewellery from the victim’s house, which the police have recovered,” the officer added.
(IANS)
