A joint team of Gujarat and Bihar Police on Friday night arrested Anil Yadav, the main accused in the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in Surat last week.
According to the police, Yadav, 22, was arrested from Dhansoi police station area in Buxar district after the body of the three-year-old girl was recovered from his rented room in Surat on October 15. The accused worked with the minor's father in some capacity, they added.
"The minor girl had gone missing on October 13, following which her family, hailing from Maharashtra, had lodged a complaint with the police. On checking the CCTV footage of the compound where she lived, it was found that she had not left it," said Bihar police officer.
The police then raided the other homes in the vicinity and found her body wrapped in a polythene bag in Yadav's home on the ground floor of the building. He was absconding since then, said the officer, privy to the investigation.
A team of Gujarat police had reached Buxar following the recovery of the girl's body and was assisted by local cops in locating and arresting Yadav, a native of Buxar. "He had taken refuge at someone else's house instead of returning to his own to evade arrest," he said.
The Surat incident, which came on the heels of the Sabarkantha rape case, in which another Bihari migrant labourer was accused of raping an 18-month-old baby girl, had fuelled further tension against non-Gujaratis in the western state. The Gujarat police interrogated Yadav and was likely to seek his transit remand to take him back to Surat, the cop said.
Hundreds of migrant workers from Mehsana, Himmatnagar and Ahmedabad districts had fled to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh just days before Dussehra, following attacks from locals.
The exodus days before Dussehra had triggered a massive crisis as it crippled the operations of several industrial units. It also snowballed into a political slugfest between the ruling BJP and rival Congress in Gujarat.
Assuring security to the migrants, the state government arrested over 400 people and registered several cases. State’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also appealed to people not to engage in violence.
Guj Migrant Crisis
Migrant crisis unfolds following rape of a toddler earlier this month
Hindi-speaking workers flee to Bihar, UP after mob violence
Industries stare at huge losses ahead of festive season
Crisis triggers political slugfest between Cong & BJP
Amid backlash, state arrests over 400 people
Gujarat CM assures migrants of their safety, appeals them to return
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