Thane: The Hill Line police arrested a 38-year-old man for allegedly killing his three-year-old niece after playfully slapping her on November 18th. The incident took place at a house in Ulhasnagar on Monday.
The deceased name was withheld to protect her identity due to she was minor. The deceased who lived with her mother and two sisters. The uncle was identified as Jitu Nupe, 38, a porter by profession. Nupe lives with his wife and children in Ulhasnagar
The three-year-old girl had been missing on Monday (November 18). The victim's mother was looking for her in the locality. The mother alerted family members about her being missing. However, they could not trace her. The mother, along with the accused, Nupe, approached the police station to lodge a missing case against an unknown person. The police swiftly took action.
On Thursday, the police launched a search for the girl. In the search operation, the accused, his wife, and the rickshaw driver joined. They all went to Premanagar tekdi, and the driver went to an isolated place in the same area and found the body. He alerted the police.
The police became suspicious of the driver's actions and took him into custody based on their suspicions. During the interrogation, the driver revealed the name of Nepu. The police took custody of Nepu. During the interrogation, Nepu confessed to burning the body but said the intention was not to kill the girl.
According to police sources, Nupe was playing with his niece at his sister's home on Monday when he "playfully" slapped her. As a result, the girl fell and hit her head so hard that she died on the spot. The accused Nupe was scared about the act. He promptly hid her body in a nearby isolated place. Later, when his sister came to know that her daughter was missing, he and his sister rushed to the police station to file a missing case.
On Wednesday, Nupe waited for the perfect time when the people were not in the area. Nupe, his wife, and the rickshaw driver took the body to the bushes and tried to burn it, said police.
The girl's partially burnt body was recovered on Thursday from the bushes near the Prem Nagar Tekdi located at Ulhasnagar Hill Line police station. The police said that Nupe was arrested after he tried to burn her body in a bid to destroy evidence and disposed it.
Anil Jagtap, Senior Police Inspector said, "We arrested the accused and produced him in court, where he was remanded into police custody for further investigation. So far only Nupe has been arrested while the roles of others are being probed."
