Noida shocker: Three-year-old girl raped, murdered by grandmother's paramour

In a recent development reported from Noida, police on Monday took a 55-year-old man into their custody for allegedly raping and murdering his 50-year-old girlfriend's three-year-old granddaughter as the couple were of the opinion that the kid was a "hindrance to their marriage", officials said.

The grandmother of the victim has also been taken into police custody for her role in the case which was reported on 25th December after the child had gone "missing", the police said, as it solved the blind murder case.

The dead body of the victim was recovered from an under-construction structure close to Ilahabas village on December 28, with the police initiating a probe after it suspected that the child was sexually assaulted as well, officials said.

According to the police the victim had been staying with her grandmother because her father had been in prison for the past two years while her mother had been living in her home district of Budaun due to a tiff between the couple.

According to a police spokesperson, "The woman had on December 25 informed the local Phase 2 police station that her granddaughter had gone missing on December 24. An FIR was lodged under Indian Penal Code section 363 (missing) and search launched for the child".

Following the probe and autopsy report, sexual assault against the minor victim was confirmed. It was also confirmed that there had been an attempt to destory the evidence as the body was hidden under a log of plywood in the under-construction building," the official said.

With comprehensive investigation, the grandmother, who had reported the crime to the cops, broke down during the questioning and confessed to her relationship with the man, the police claimed.

"The man is a resident Bulandshahr district but had been living near Sector 88 in Noida for a long time. He has a criminal mentality. He along with his girlfriend had conspired the murder of the child, believing she was hindrance to their marriage," the spokesperson said.

The accused was taken into police custody on Monday from Sector 88, while the woman has been held and further legal proceedings are in process, the police said.

Charges under IPC section 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), among others, as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have been slapped against the accused.

Also Read: Mumbai horror: Elderly housekeeper brutally beaten to death by employers