New Delhi, December 19: A nine-year-old girl in north Delhi was kidnapped, raped, and killed and her body dumped into a canal, police said on Tuesday. According to police, the kidnapping of a girl, a resident of Nangli Poona village, was reported at Swaroop Nagar police station on December 12 evening. An FIR under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered and a probe was initiated.

The official said that the parents of the girl work in a factory as labourers and live in a rented accommodation. "While the search for the girl was going on, police scanned the CCTV footage and traced the accused, identified as Sanjeev Rana, 52, a resident of Nangli Poona. However, when the police team reached to arrest him, it was revealed that the accused was admitted in a hospital at Rohini due to a serious traffic accident on December 15 and was unfit to make a statement," a senior police official said. Delhi Shocker: Nine-Year-Old Girl Abducted, Raped and Murdered in Swaroop Nagar, Accused Arrested

Meanwhile, during further investigation, it was found that the girl sat in the vehicle of the accused from a street near her home on December 12 at around 2 p.m. “On December 17 when he became fit for a statement, Rana confessed to abducting and killing the girl on December 12. As per initial confession, he has dumped the body in Munak canal," said the official. Following the admission, additional sections of the IPC and of the POCSO Act were added to the FIR. Delhi Shocker: 37-Year-Old Male Nurse Stabbed to Death in New Usmanpur Area, Police Launch Probe

Rana, after he was discharged from the hospital,was placed under arrest, and a search launched for the victim's body, the official added. Since December 17, five divers have been deputed to search for the body of the girl in the canal. "Teams have also been formed to check his entire route of December 12 as per technical surveillance," said the official.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2023 05:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).