Pune: Man rapes, kills child after mother's rejection

A 24-year-old man allegedly raped and killed a seven-year-old girl in an act of revenge, after her mother refused to marry him. He was later found hanging inside the campus of the College of Military Engineering (CME) in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune.

The incident came to light on Tuesday evening. According to police, the accused and the woman worked in the CME Mess and lived on the campus.

"The girl's corpse was taken to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial hospital," says Smartna Patil, DCP (Zone I) of Pimpri Chinchwad police. "The doctor hinted to the police team that she was sexually assaulted and then murdered."

Autopsy results are awaited to ascertain the cause of death.

Police say that child was raped when her mother had gone to work and her elder sister, 8, was in school. They traced the alleged rapist's location using his SIM card. "We found that he was constantly shifting locations. We dispatched our team, but by the time we could nab him, he had killed himself," Patil says.

"The girl's father passed away a few months ago, after which the accused proposed marriage to her mother. She turned him down, and in her statement, said they had quarrelled over the issue on Monday night," Patil said.