Firozabad, June 20: A chilling case of child murder has rocked Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district after the body of an 8-year-old girl, missing since Tuesday evening, was found stuffed in a sack and hidden among bricks in a village home.
The girl, a native of Hathras, had come to visit her maternal uncle and grandmother in a village under Narkhi police station limits. She went missing on Tuesday after being sent to buy Chinese food from a vendor about 200 metres away. Her family filed a missing report on Wednesday, prompting a swift search operation.
“During the investigation, we discovered that the girl had indeed reached the food vendor. But she never returned. Based on leads, we detained Kaushal Kushwaha, a villager with a known criminal background,” said Ravi Shankar Prasad, superintendent of police (City), Firozabad.
Kaushal, who was out on bail for theft and known as a habitual drinker, confessed during interrogation that he had strangled the child and hid her body under a pile of bricks in his own house. “He even tried to mislead police by placing the girl’s gold chain separately,” SP Prasad added.
While being taken for further questioning, Kaushal attempted to escape but was injured in police firing and later arrested. Three members of his family were also detained for suspected involvement or sheltering the accused.
The body has been sent for postmortem to confirm the exact cause of death and check for possible sexual assault.
The brutal killing has triggered shock and anger in the village, where residents are demanding tighter surveillance and stricter action against repeat offenders released on bail.
