A man and his three associates were arrested on Friday for allegedly abducting and killing a nine-year-old girl with an iron rod, police said.
Johnny alias Shiva, who is a driver by profession, and his associates Naresh, Kailash and Tarun were arrested from Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh and the minor's body was recovered from a field in Tibra village, they said.
On February 23, the girl's parents had lodged a complaint at Kalyanpuri police station stating that their daughter had gone missing, according to the police.
Police said Johnny and his associates kidnapped the girl, who lived in east Delhi's Kalyanpuri, to extort money from her parents.
Johnny and Naresh abducted the girl in their car. Later, they were joined by Tarun and other associates, a senior police officer said.
Soon after the girl went missing, neighbours started searching for her and suspected Johnny as he was also missing from the area around the same time.
When Johnny got a hint about this development, he panicked and planned to kill the minor.
The four accused took the girl to Tibra village near Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh and killed her inside the car using an iron rod.
After killing the girl, they dumped her body in a field in Tibra village near Modinagar.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Deepak Yadav said all the four accused in the case -- Johnny, Naresh, Kailash and Tarun -- have been arrested and the weapon of offence has been recovered.
The body of the girl was recovered by the police on Friday morning, the police said.
Meanwhile, locals staged a protest in the area and attacked a police vehicle alleging delay in registering the complaint, but police denied the claims and said the complaint was registered on time.
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