The incident happened on September 26, said police. (Representational)
Gorakhpur, UP: Two persons were arrested here on Monday in connection with the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl, police said.
The accused were identified as Sunil Gaur (35) and Durgesh Kumar Yadav alias Melhu (21), both residents of the Pipiganj police station area, they said.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Grover told reporters that Sunil Gaur had been visiting the girl's house to buy fodder for the past few months. During this time, he became acquainted with her mother and started talking to her on the phone.
Simultaneously, Sunil Gaur also started talking to the girl and their friendship gradually evolved into a romantic relationship, the SSP said.
On September 26, when the girl's mother had gone out for some work, Sunil Gaur went to her house and raped her. The girl asked Sunil Gaur to marry her. Angered by this, Sunil Gaur had an argument with the girl and slammed her head against a wooden bed before strangling her to death, he said.
Later, Sunil Gaur called Durgesh Yadav, who was waiting outside the girl's house, and the two hanged the body from the room's ceiling with a saree to make it look like the teenager committed suicide. They escaped through a ventilator in the room after locking it from inside, Mr Grover said.
After receiving information about the incident, a case was registered at Campierganj police station. During the course of investigation, the roles of Sunil Gaur and Durgesh Yadav came to light and they were arrested on Monday, he said.
The two have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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