Dumka: Police have arrested a 35-year-old man in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Dumka district, amid protests by students and residents.The girl’s body was found in bushes near a check dam on Oct 9, following a search by her family, police and villagers. Dumka SP Pitambar Singh Kherwar said the accused allegedly sexually assaulted the girl before strangling her to death, fearing she might identify him.Police said the accused lived in a village along the route the girl regularly took to attend school. Investigators said he had allegedly been harbouring ill intentions towards her and attacked her when he found her alone in a field.Kherwar said the girl had returned from school and gone to a nearby field around 3.30 pm to bring home the family’s cattle. As weather conditions deteriorated, other cattle grazers reportedly left the area, leaving her alone.When she did not return home, her mother began searching for her and found a cattle-tethering rope and the girl’s slippers in the field. The body was later recovered from bushes in a partially unclothed condition, police said.A case was registered under relevant provisions of BNS and Section 6 of the Pocso Act against unknown persons.A special investigation team was formed to probe the case. The team questioned nearly 500 people in several villages and examined technical evidence, dog squad inputs, fingerprints and forensic material.Police said the accused was remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a local court on Tuesday.
