05 September,2011 07:07 AM IST | | Shiva Devnath
After victim loses her elder sister in the crowds, 28-year-old assailant lures her with chocolate beneath Goregaon flyover, crushes her skull with rock
The frenzied crowd on the streets during Ganpati visarjan claimed its first victim as a three-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Goregaon (East) on Friday evening.
The victim, a resident of Aarey Colony had gone to participate in the Ganpati immersions with her sister. However, amid the crowds, she got separated from her elder sister.
According to investigating officers from the Vanrai police station, the victim began crying after losing her sister.
Hearing her cries for help, the accused identified as Bablu Gupta, a painter and resident of the same locality, approached her and tried to console her with a chocolate and took her to the parking lot beneath the flyover opposite Hub Mall in Goregaon (East) and raped her.
In an attempt to muffle the three-year-old's screams, Gupta crushed her head with a rock and killed her.
"The accused was sneaking away from the spot when a few locals saw him and suspecting foul play, nabbed him. Gupta told the locals that he was passing by when he spotted the girl, who was dead in the parking lot.
However, the locals did not believe him and called the authorities," said Suresh Shinde, senior inspector, Vanrai police station.
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Gupta has been arrested for rape and murder and was presented before court on Saturday where he was remanded to police custody.
