NEW DELHI: A 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered after being abducted from a pavement in south Delhi by a cab driver early Monday morning.The accused, Basu Kumar Singh (25), was shot and wounded by cops after he allegedly snatched a weapon in an escape attempt during a crime scene reconstruction.As the interrogation continued, the accused finally confessed to killing the minor after raping her at an isolated place and then dumping the body. Cops recovered the body that had injuries on face and head, around 4.30pm.He told police that he had come to CDR Chowk to pick up a passenger when he spotted the girl and allegedly abducted her. “After sexually assaulting her, he claimed that he strangled her and then hit her with stones before dumping the body in a forested area near the Gurgaon border,” an officer said.
‘Papa…’: Child’s final call before she vanished
It was a chase that the 40-year-old man would never forget. “I was sleeping when I was jolted awake with my daughter yelling ‘Papa…’ I saw her being pulled in the car and ran to save her. I picked up a stick and chased but the car sped away,” the girl’s father told TOI at a mortuary in a south Delhi hospital Tuesday.A few months ago, the family had migrated from another state to Delhi in search of a better life. They initially lived in rented accommodation, but were forced to move onto the streets after they could no longer afford the rent.The 10-year-old girl would often look after her younger siblings while her parents worked as daily wagers.The scenes at the hospital were heart-rending. Police had brought the father to the mortuary for formal identification of his daughter’s body. As he stepped out after identifying her, he broke down inconsolably, crying in grief, unable to process the loss.The father said the family had been living a difficult and unstable life for the past several months.
The child cried out to papa for help
“We were earlier staying in a rented room, but had to vacate it. After that, we went back to our village in Bihar and stayed there for nearly four months. A few months ago, we returned to Delhi, but with no place to stay, we had no option but to live on the footpath,” he said.He added that some people in the area knew the family and were aware of their circumstances. Before sleeping on the pavement, he had spoken to a few of them and explained that they were homeless and had nowhere else to go.According to him, those familiar with the family told them they could stay there temporarily until they found another room on rent. He said he had kept some of his belongings with an acquaintance in the area after vacating the accommodation and before leaving for Bihar.Recalling the morning of the incident, the father said the family was asleep when he suddenly heard his daughter cry out just once.“She only said one word: ‘Papa’. By the time I woke up, she was being taken inside the car. I picked up a stick and ran after them, but the driver fled the spot within a minute. I immediately made calls for help,” he said.The grieving father said his daughter had recently been enrolled in a government school in Delhi and was excited about studying.“I got her admission only after a great struggle. Earlier, I did not have the required documents. Slowly, we managed to get them made and enrolled her. She wanted to study,” he said, his voice choking.When TOI visited the area, several other homeless people could still be seen living in makeshift arrangements at the footpath where the family had been sleeping. A security guard posted nearby said the stretch was often unsafe, particularly for homeless women and children.“Drunkards and drug addicts frequently roam around here and harass people living on the roadside, especially women,” he said.
