A 38-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing his sister’s 3-year-old daughter and trying to burn the body in Maharashtra’s Thane district, an official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.
The child from the Ulhasnagar area went missing on November 18 and her partially burnt body was recovered from the bushes near a police station Thursday.
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Acting on technical inputs and human intelligence, police took the child’s uncle into custody. An official said the girl fell and died after the accused slapped her over something. The accused then set the body on fire to destroy it, said senior inspector Anil Jagtap of the Hill Line police station, adding that a probe is underway.
"After killing his 3-year-old niece, the accused uncle tried to dispose of her body by taking it to a secluded spot and attempting to burn it in the bushes. However, the body was recovered by the police. The uncle has confessed to the crime but claims the murder was not intentional. He will be presented in court tomorrow. Police are continuing their investigation into the incident," said police reported news agency IANS.