An eight-year-old girl was brutally hacked to death with a sharp weapon for plucking mango from a private orchard on Sunday. The incident took place at Tintikri village of Araria district in Bihar, 300 km north-east of state capital Patna, on Sunday.
Amerun Khatun strayed into a private orchard to collect mangoes while she was returning home after shopping on the eve of Eid with her father Ibrahim Safi. She allegedly insisted on collecting some mangoes but her dad didn't approve and left, thinking she would follow.
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The girl didn't return home till late Sunday evening and the family was later informed by villagers that she was lying in a pool of blood at the private orchard. She was allegedly attacked with a sharp weapon by Sanjay Mehta, the owner of the orchard, and died of excessive loss of blood.
"Sanjay Mehta and his family members caught hold of the girl and attacked her. They hacked her on several parts of her body. When she died, they tied her body with electric wires in an effort to make her death appear as though it was caused by electric shock," a police officer familiar with the case told The New Indian Express.
"I found my daughter murdered brutally. There were several cut marks on her body and she was subjected to electric shock as well, to give an impression that she had been accidentally electrocuted," Safi told Hindustan Times.
Basmatiya police station house officer Sadanand Sah confirmed injury marks on the girl's body and said the police are awaiting post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death.
Sources said the villagers tried to conceal the murder but the victim's father saw blood stains in the orchard. He approached the police despite mounting pressure.
An FIR has been filed against Sanjay Mehta, his aide Vinod Mehta and two others at Basmatia police outpost for the murder based on Safi's complaint. The accused are absconding and are suspected to have crossed the Nepal border.
Araria superintendent of police Sudhir Porika said the police are trying to arrest the accused.
