Escaped Rape-Murder Convict Arrested After Killing Second Child in Thane District

Police have apprehended a 33-year-old man in connection with the brutal assault and murder case in Bhiwandi town.

Thane:

A 33-year-old powerloom worker, who had previously escaped custody while facing charges for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl, has allegedly committed another heinous crime in Maharashtra's Thane district, authorities reported on Saturday.

Law enforcement officials have taken the suspect into custody following the tragic incident that took place in Bhiwandi town on October 1, according to a police official.

The accused reportedly sexually assaulted and strangled his seven-year-old neighbor before concealing her body in a gunny sack and attempting to flee on Wednesday. Police successfully apprehended him as he was preparing to escape to Madhubani in Bihar that same night.

Investigators revealed that the young victim had left her home to relieve herself but never returned. Her worried parents conducted an extensive search and discovered the small bucket she had been carrying outside the locked residence of the accused.

After breaking down the door, they made the horrifying discovery of their child's body stuffed inside a gunny sack, according to police statements.

The official further disclosed that the accused had committed a similar rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in 2023, for which he had been arrested and imprisoned in Thane Central Jail.

He had managed to escape police custody during a court hearing in August and had recently returned to reside in the victim's neighborhood just days before the incident.

Local authorities have registered a case against the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official confirmed.