A 23-year-old youth Shivkumar Chaudhary, who was released on bail for having molested a 17-year school girl, stabbed the girl 20 times in Jabalpur on Monday. In another incident, a four-year-old girl was abducted, raped and strangulated to death in Mhow town of the Indore district in the wee hours the same day.
Choudhary, who runs a mobile phone shop, is the girl's neighbour in the Kudwari area under Gohalpur police station area in Jabalpur. He had molested the the same girl in September.
"The accused had been charge-sheeted in the September molestation and the POCSO Act case. He will be tried in the murder case in a fast track court," Jabalpur district police superintendent Amit Singh said.
The incident took place on Monday morning when the teenager was alone at home with her seven-year-old brother playing outside and parents away for work.
Taking advantage of the situation, Choudhary barged into her home and bolted the door from inside before stabbing her to death.
Hearing the girl's scream, her brother and neighbours called the police, which rushed to the spot and nabbed the killer just when he was trying to escape. The police have also seized the knife used in the crime.
The doctors declared the girl dead on arrival at the hospital.
In the other case, the Mhow police said the victim was sleeping along with her family members near a temple when she was abducted. The parents noticed the child missing at dawn and reported the matter to the police.
The girl's body wrapped in a plastic sheet was recovered from an abandoned building near a hospital.
The autopsy report concluded that the minor was raped before being strangulated. Multiple injuries reportedly indicated that her head was banged repeatedly before the rape and murder.
"A case of abduction, rape and murder has been registered against the unidentified accused under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012. Involvement of more than one person in the crime cannot be ruled out," Mhow (Indore) police station in-charge Abhay Nema said.
The police are examining CCTV footage from where the minor was kidnapped and the place where her body was found.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday condemned the heinous crime and asked the police to track and immediately arrest culprits. He also asked local administration to render all possible support to the deceased minor's family.
( With inputs from IANS )