Lucknow:
Three weeks after a fourteen-year-old girl was found murdered inside a police station compound in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, the police today arrested a gunner of a circle officer in connection with the case.
"Gunner of Circle officer Atiq Ahamad has been arrested by the CB-CID for his involvement killing a 14-year-old girl, whose body was found hanging on June 10 in Lakhimpur Kheri," Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters.
Mr Singh said that Ahamad tried to rape the girl but then killed her by strangling her with her
dupatta after hearing some commotion.
He made it clear though that there was no case of rape in the entire incident.
He further added that the constable used to lure the girl and his past had corroborated this.
The charge sheet in the matter would be filed soon in the court.
The parents of the victim, Sonam, had alleged that she was raped and subsequently murdered at the Nighaasan police station. The victim was found dead, tied to a tree by her
dupatta at the police station.
(Read: 14-year-old raped and killed, allegedly by cops in Lakhimpur Kheri)Four policemen - Constable Ram Chandra Kumar, Sub-Inspector BK Singh, Constable Uma Shanker and Constable Shiv Kumar - had been arrested earlier on charges of tampering of evidence. Lakhimpur Kheri's Superindent of Police, DK Rai, was also transferred.
(Read: Four policemen arrested for tampering with evidence)When the first post-mortem had thrown no light on the girl's death except to say that she had committed suicide, the UP government, under huge pressure, intervened and a second autopsy was ordered and conducted. It confirmed murder, though not rape. She was strangled and died of asyphxia, the report said.
The entire incident had sparked nationwide outrage with political parties slamming the Mayawat government for deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
(With PTI inputs)