9-year-old raped & killed in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi, labourer next door who often gave her treats arrested

BHIWANDI: A 9-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered with a sharp weapon in Bhiwandi on Thursday. The child's body was found at a neighbour's in the building in which she lived. A 45-year-old labourer who lived in the room where the child was found dead has been arrested for the crime.
The police said that the girl's family had moved into the building as tenants about a month ago.She lived with her parents and an elder brother.
The labourer, who worked at a power loom, used to ply the girl with goodies like mangoes and sweets in the short time since the family had moved in - something that the child's parents did not take too kindly to.
The child was alone at home Thursday afternoon, the police said - her parents had gone to work at a warehouse while the elder brother was at school.
The police added that their investigation has revealed that the labourer, who lived alone, lured the child with sweets, took her to his house where he sexually assaulted her and then killed her using a sharp weapon, and fled.
Later that day, around 7 pm, when the girl's father returned home from work, and found his daughter missing, he started looking for her in the neighbourhood. As she was nowhere to be found, the neighbours joined in the search for the child in other homes in their building.
The labourer's flat was latched from the outside. When the father entered the house to look for the child, he found his daughter lying lifeless in the house; the labourer was not around.
The girl was taken to hospital where doctors declared her 'brought dead'. The hospital informed the police that the child had been sexually assaulted.
A criminal offence was registered at Shanti Nagar police station. The local police team along with officials from the crime branch carried out parallel investigations into the case.
The labourer was found holed up at a house near the power loom where he worked, the police said, adding that he was nabbed early Friday morning.
The labourer, who hails from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, had been staying in Bhiwandi and worked at the power loom for many years. His wife and two children live in the village.