Man arrested for killing minor girl after robbing house

A 34-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing a 16-year-old girl after she saw him robbing her house in west Delhi's Khyala area, police said Thursday.

Parvinder Singh, a resident of Vishnu Garden, Khyala, had planned the robbery well in advance and he had purchased gloves to conceal his fingerprints like he had seen it in Crime Patrol TV series, they said.

On Monday, police were informed about the killing of a minor girl at Vishnu Garden. After reaching the spot, they found body of Pooja lying in a pool of blood with her throat slit, police said.

Munna Lal, father of the deceased, said he had three daughters and a son. At the time of the incident, he was at his vegetable shop along with his wife at Subzi Mandi, Khyala, they added.

However, his youngest daughter Pooja and son Depak, 12, were at home.

At around 8.30 pm, Deepak came to Lal and informed that Pooja has been killed by some unidentified person, police said.

During investigation, CCTV cameras of the nearby areas were checked and it was found that the accused had a friendly entry into the house, they said.

Accordingly, all the known persons of the family were interrogated, Monika Bhardwaj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said.

From CCTV footage, Singh, the neighbour of the deceased and known to the family, was detained as he was seen loitering in the lane several times, she said.

During interrogation, he accepted his role in the crime, the DCP said. Singh disclosed that the family members of the deceased trusted him and he had easy access into their house, she added.

A week ago, he saw Sukho Devi, mother of the deceased, keeping a bag full of jewellery inside an almirah in the house, Bhardwaj said.

Singh made a plan to steal the jewellery as he was in dire need of money. On Monday, at around 7 pm, he entered the house after assuring himself that none other than the deceased was present, she added.

As Pooja was present in another room, he started taking jewellery from the almirah. However, Pooja saw him stealing and objected. He was frightened and strangled her with a nylon rope, the DCP said.

Later, to ensure that she has died, he slit her throat with a house knife and fled with jewellery and cash, the officer said.

After committing the crime, he had hidden the robbed articles on the terrace of his house, police said, adding one knife, one pair of plastic gloves, one hand bag, some gold and silver jewellery and Rs 18,000 were recovered from his possession.