Four, including priest, held for rape & murder of 9-yr-old in Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) Delhi Police have arrested four persons on charges of raping and killing a nine-year-old girl and then cremating the body at a village crematorium near Delhi Cantonment on Sunday evening, the police said on Monday.

The four accused persons, including a priest, allegedly cremated the body of the girl without her parents' consent or informing the police.

The matter surfaced after the victim's family staged a protest along with the local people on Sunday night.

The police said that the accused persons told the victim's mother that the child was electrocuted to death.

They even told the girl's family members that if matter reaches the police, the body will be sent for autopsy, and the doctors will take out her vital organs and sell them.

The four arrested persons have been identified as Radhey Shyam, the 55-year-old priest of the crematorium, and Salim, Laxmi Narayan and Kuldeep, said Ingit Pratap Singh, DCP, South West Delhi.

According to the DCP, at around 5.30 pm on Sunday, the girl, who lived with her parents near the crematorium, went to fetch water from the water cooler of the crematorium.

At around 6 pm, the priest and the three men known to the family called the girl's mother and showed her the girl's body. They claimed that the girl died of electrocution while having water from the cooler. They also showed burn marks on her wrist and elbow, claiming that her lips had turned blue due to the shock.

"The four men asked the girl's mother not to inform the police about the death. They told her that the police will register a case and the body will be sent for an autopsy, where the doctors will remove her vital organs and sell them. The four men then cremated the body," Singh said.

According to the police, nearly 200 villagers reached the crematorium on Sunday night and staged a protest till Monday evening, demanding that the arrested persons be booked on charges of rape and murder.

Some politicians also joined the protest on Monday, demanding justice for the girl's family.

Women and Child Development Minister of Delhi, Rajendra Pal Gautam, also visited the victim's family on Monday evening and claimed to have promised to support the family with financial and legal aid.

The Delhi Police have registered a case under Sections 302, 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code, along with the relevant Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the SC/ST Act.