Rape accused fled to Bihar, thinking girl was dead

The accused in the brutal rape case of a five-year-old Delhi girl was arrested in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur by the Delhi Police on Saturday.

He was later brought to the national capital. Rumours about the role of a second person in the case is also doing the rounds, but investigators said they are yet to verify it.

Manoj, 22,  from Bharthwa village in Muzaffarpur, was nabbed at Chirota village with the help of the Bihar Police around 2 pm on Saturday.

The police put Manoj’s phone number under surveillance and learnt that he was hiding in Bihar. A police team took one of Manoj’s neighbours to Muzaffarpur to identify him. The team first raided Bharthwa village where it learnt that Manoj was hiding in his in-laws’ house at Chirota.

A labourer, Manoj worked in various apparel factories in north-east Delhi on daily wages. He came to the Capital around 15 years ago with his father Bindeshwar Shah, who runs a juice stall at Old Seelampur. He has two brothers and four sisters who live in Bihar.

Manoj is said to have confessed to his crime. He is said to have told the police that he got scared after the crime and fled from his room at 7 pm on April 15 to catch the Swatantrata Senani Express which left Delhi at 8:30 pm. He reached his village on April 16, and after staying there for a day, went to his in-laws’ house.

Manoj also told police that he left the house thinking that the girl was dead. As the news of Manoj’s arrest spread, villagers decided to socially boycott his family.  While Manoj told the police that he shifted to the rented accommodation two weeks ago, the house owner said he moved around eight days back.

The police said Manoj was earlier involved in a trespassing case in 2010 and jailed for one and a half months. They further said Manoj was “reportedly also involved in the sexual assault of his sister-in-law”, a claim which is yet to be verified.