Gurgaon's 1st case against a juvenile for murder

GURGAON: A 16-year-old boy allegedly strangled to death a nine-year-old girl, his neighbour in a housing society, on Monday morning when she walked in on him trying to steal from the flat. He set her body on fire by lighting pieces of camphor and cloth he found lying around after he killed her, apparently to destroy evidence.
The boy, who was apprehended under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) - the first case to be registered in the city under the new law that has replaced the Indian Penal Code - had allegedly gone to the neighbour's house to steal jewellery when her mother and brother were visiting his flat.The two families live in adjacent towers of the Sector 107 society, which was built under the affordable housing scheme.
The case was registered at Rajendra Park police station.
The boy told investigators he entered the neighbour's flat thinking everyone was away and panicked when the girl suddenly walked out of the washroom.
Police said the girl's father, a machine operator at a factory, was away at work, so she was alone. She was taking a bath and had probably come out to check when she heard noises as the boy made his way in. The door was apparently latched but not locked, since the family had only gone out to the next tower and was expecting to return soon.
The boy claimed he strangled her with a dupatta on a bed. When he realised she was not breathing, he grabbed pieces of camphor and a matchbox from the 'pooja ghar' and threw the burning pieces on her, thinking it would erase his fingerprints and destroy other evidence. The murder was committed around 10am.
Investigators said they were still inquiring into what prompted him to go to the house to steal.
"We received a call around 10.45am that a minor girl was killed on Monday by a minor boy who resides in her neighbourhood. We have apprehended the minor. The matter is under investigation," said DCP (west) Karan Goyal "Preliminary investigations suggest the accused attempted to steal some jewellery, during which the incident occurred. We are conducting a thorough interrogation to ascertain further details. This is the first case lodged under BNS in the city," said the police spokesperson Sandeep Kumar.
In her police complaint, the girl's mother said on returning home she found the iron gate of their flat locked but the wooden door open. "I saw my neighbour's son standing inside the flat and detected a burning smell. I immediately called my neighbours and the fire department. They entered the flat through the puja room. Inside the bedroom, we found my daughter's partially burnt body," she said.
Police have sent the body for autopsy, while a forensic team and dog squad collected evidence from the flat, including fluids.
The boy was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103 (1) (murder), 238 (a) (causing disappearance of evidence punishable with death or giving false information to screen offender), 305 (theft in a dwelling house, or means of transportation or place of worship, etc), 62 (attempt to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonments).