A 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped before being hacked to death in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district.
The body of the minor was recovered from a pit inside the house of the accused, who was arrested on Wednesday from Himachal Pradesh, according to the police sources here.
Police said that the minor, who was working in a field with her father and sisters, had left to fetch water last Thursday and her parents started looking for her when she did not return till late in the evening.
The cops zeroed in on the accused, a man named Harendra, who lived in the vicinity and had gone missing after the incident. A police team, which searched Harendra's house on Tuesday, found the body buried in a newly dug pit in the courtyard.
The police said that the victim had gone to Harendra's house for water when she was dragged inside by him and was raped. She was killed with a stone when she raised an alarm. Harendra then dug a pit and buried her body, the police said.
According to the sources, there were no clothes on the victim's body, indicating that she might have been raped.
The incident triggered outrage with Opposition leaders slamming the Yogi Adityanath government over the rise in the crimes against women in the state.
''This government has completely failed in ensuring the safety of women,'' said a senior Samajwadi Party (SP) leader here.
Less than two days ago, a Dalit girl was found dead in a forested area near a village in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district. The family of the deceased had alleged that she was raped before being murdered.
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