Ghaziabad: A 22-year-old man was arrested for allegedly abducting a seven-year-old girl as she slept beside her family at an under-construction site in Indirapuram, raping her, and then returning her to the same spot before fleeing with cash and a mobile phone.The accused, Alfajuddin, alias Bhalu, is from Farrukhabad and was living in a slum in Indirapuram, police said. The girl’s father worked as a guard at the construction site, where the family had been living for the past two months.According to police, the crime took place between 1am and 2am on April 16. Cops said Alfajuddin was hiding in a nearby park, entered the family’s shanty at the site, lifted the child while she was asleep, and took her away.ACP Abhishek Srivastava said the girl was assaulted in the park and threatened into silence when she cried out. The accused then brought her back to the jhuggi, police said.Srivastava said the man stayed on at the site, ransacked the family’s shelter and stole Rs 11,000 in cash and the mother’s mobile phone, which had been left on charge. According to police, he spent Rs 1,000 on intoxicants and Rs 10,000 was recovered from him.
The stolen phone was allegedly sold to an unidentified passerby and is yet to be traced.Police said CCTV footage from near the site helped identify the accused. In one clip, he is seen entering the shanty. Minutes later, he appears carrying the girl on his shoulder across the road. Another clip shows him returning with the child about half an hour later. A third shows him fleeing after remaining inside the slum for some time.Alfajuddin was arrested in the early hours of Sunday near Green Belt road after allegedly trying to escape a police patrol and firing at cops with a country-made pistol. Police said they returned fire in self-defence, injuring him in both legs. A pistol, two empty cartridges, one live cartridge and the cash were recovered from him.An FIR was registered at Indirapuram police station under Section 74 (rape) of BNS and relevant provisions of the Pocso Act. Theft charges, police said, are being added.
