A 15-year-old boy has been arrested in Hailakandi district of Assam for allegedly raping and killing a 6-year-old girl from his neighborhood. The boy’s father was also arrested for supporting his son and trying to destroy evidence of the crime.

The incident happened in Sultanicherra area, Kathlicherra assembly constituency, Hailakandi district. The girl had been missing since February 9 and her body was found on February 12.

According to the police, an initial investigation revealed that on February 9, the 6-year-old girl was playing with other local children before disappearing. The next day, his body was found in a nearby forest area. According to the police, she was seriously injured before she died. The police sent the body to Hailakandi Civil Hospital for an autopsy.

After the police began to investigate the case and under the instructions of the Chairman of the Assam State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (ACPCR), Dr Sunita Chakraborty, a team from Guwahati arrived in Hailakandi and participated in the investigation and interrogation.

ACCRP member Ajoy Kumar Dutta said they visited other children who were present when the girl went missing. They spoke to family members and children separately. Plainclothes police were present during the interrogation.

“We found a family who behaved strangely and a boy told a lot of lies. It was also found that there were too many relatives living in their house at that time, which helped us find a way to identify the criminal. It was a very smart decision and the ACCRP and the police investigated the matter together and resolved it within 24 hours,” Dutta said.

The boy was arrested on several serious charges, but he is a minor and the proceedings will take place under the Juvenile Justice Act. Dutta also suggested that the boy’s father may be involved in the murder of the 6-year-old girl.

Hailakandi District Police Superintendent Gaurav Upadhyay informed that after recovering the girl’s body, they started investigating the case. Upadhyay said, “The boy confessed to his crime and he informed the police about the incident.”

“We are trying to find out if another person helped him in the murder. The autopsy report will give us more information on what really happened to him. We have arrested his father for trying to hide evidence related to this incident and it is possible that he also helped to kill her,” the SP said.