Labourer involved in minor girl murder caught in Odisha

Hours after the murder of a six-year-old girl near her makeshift house in Whitefield, the police tracked down the accused in Odisha while he was allegedly fleeing to his hometown with his family on Wednesday.

Saidulu Adavath, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whitefield), said that the suspect was brought back after obtaining transit remand from a local court to ascertain the exact reason behind the murder.

The accused has been identified as Yusuf Meer, aged around 30. He is a migrant labourer from West Bengal. He was a neighbour to the victim.

He allegedly packed up soon after the incident and boarded the train with his family to his hometown. He was on the train with his wife and children when he was intercepted and arrested, the police said.

The body of the victim, who was missing since Monday afternoon, was found on Tuesday night inside a dry canal in the vicinity.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused was strangled as the body was found with plastic rope around the neck . “Though there were no signs of sexual assault, the police are waiting for the post-mortem report,” an official said.

Based on the complaint filed by the victim’s father, the police gathered details of the accused and formed a special team to track him down.