Saran (Bihar), March 21 Five young men have been booked in Saran district of Bihar for the alleged rape and murder of a girl, who was reportedly in a relationship with one of the accused, officials said.
The incident occurred in the Derni Police Station area of the district.
"Around 4:45 pm on March 11, the Derni SHO received information that a minor girl had died under suspicious circumstances in a well five metres away from her house. When the police reached the spot, family members and locals had already pulled the body out of the well and placed it nearby," a police statement said.
Based on a complaint filed by the victim's mother on March 12, a police case was registered against five young men under various sections of the BNS and POCSO Act, police said.
Police arrested the main accused, Yuvraj Kumar of the same village, who "admitted to his presence at the spot" and said that he and the deceased used to communicate via Instagram.
According to a police statement, on the day of the incident, "A local woman living about 30 feet from the site stated that the victim's mother had called her to ask if her daughter was there. Upon checking, she informed the mother that the girl was indeed there. Subsequently, the mother and sister arrived at the spot where Yuvraj and his daughter were present."
Shortly after, other villagers also gathered, and in the ensuing chaos, the accused was caught but managed to flee, after which "it remained unclear how the girl fell into the well," it added.
According to a statement issued by Saran police on March 15, the initial post-mortem examination found "no external injury" on the body and recorded the cause of death as "asphyxia due to drowning".
The statement added that vaginal swab showed "no spermatozoan in smear, neither motile nor dead".
Sonepur SDPO Pratish Kumar said on March 15, "For further investigation, samples of vaginal swab, pubic hair, blood, fingernails, and clothing were sent to Muzaffarpur FSL.
When asked about updates and whether results from Muzaffarpur FSL have arrived, Saran SP (Gramin) and Sonepur SDPO refused to comment.
"Once appropriate information is available, details will be briefed through an official press release," both of them said.