Dehradun (Uttarakhand), July 1: In a gruesome incident that exposed the vulnerability of minor girls in India, a neighbour allegedly raped and murdered a 5-year old girl in Dehradun, capital of the Northern state of Uttarakhand in India, on Wednesday night.

 

The accused, Chunmun Mahato, 25, who hails from Bihar and worked as a labourer in Dehradun, knew the girl, said Ritesh Shah, a local police officer who is handling the case.

 

"Based on the input, we also examined the CCTV cameras of the areas in which he was seen with the girl. Police soon nabbed him and questioned him... he broke down and confessed to the crime,” Shah, the police officer said

 

The accused Mahato said that the girl would go out in the morning to play. On Tuesday also, she went out to play but did not return home till evening. Her mother and brother lodged a missing complaint on Tuesday night.

 

A case has been registered, and police started searching for the missing girl. They found that the girl was last seen with Mahato.

 

Shah said Mahato later led them to an area full of bushes where he had dumped her body. The accused was arrested on Wednesday and he was due to be presented before a court on Thursday.

 

Shah said the girl’s mother works as a housemaid while her father, a labourer, was away in Chandigarh when the five-year-old went missing.