Indore rape case: 6-month-old allegedly raped by uncle, family avoided naming accused

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INDORE: Soon after a body of a six-month-old infant was recovered from the basement of a building in Indore, police said that the accused is the victim's uncle. This is why the family of the infant was skeptical in naming the accused as a suspect, said the Deputy Inspector General of Police.

"Victim's family didn't name the accused as a suspect, who is victim's uncle in relation. Initial suspects were ruled out by Special Investigation Team (SIT) and victim's uncle was arrested. Accused had an argument with victim's mother after which he committed the crime," said HC Mishra, deputy inspector-general of police, Indore.

Victim's family didn't name the accused as a suspect, who is victim's uncle in relation. Initial suspects were ruled out by Special Investigation Team (SIT) & victim's uncle was arrested. Accused had an argument with victim's mother after which he committed the crime: DIG Indore pic.twitter.com/jnyLovdYzT — ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2018

Ruling out the initial suspects, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has, however, arrested the victim's uncle. Identified as Sunil Bheel (21), the accused was caught on CCTV camera, at around 4.45 am on Friday, carrying the infant on his shoulder. He had an argument with the victim's mother after which he committed the crime.

Indore: Girl under one year of age killed after allegedly being raped in MG Road police station limits. Police reached the spot after getting information that a child's body is lying unattended with blood spots around it. One arrested #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/FSvno5Mwr4 — ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2018

The post-mortem of the infant, which was carried out at the state-run MY Hospital here, suggested that she might have been raped before being killed as her private parts bore an injury mark, a source said.

"The body of the infant was recovered from the basement of a commercial building in Rajwada area. The accused, Sunil Bheel, had kidnapped her early today morning when she was asleep with her parents outside the Rajwada Fort. The accused was sleeping close to the family," said Mishra.

The accused and the infant's parents knew each other and were in the business of selling balloons, he added.

"The accused is seen carrying the infant in CCTV images of around 4:45 am today. He then took her to the basement of the building, some 50 metres away from where the family was sleeping, and her body was recovered in the afternoon," he said.

"The infant had an injury on her head. The accused probably threw her to the ground. However, only the post-mortem report will verify if she died due to this or whether she was smothered," Mishra said.

"We are going to arrest the accused shortly," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)