A seven-year-old girl attending a wedding was allegedly raped and strangled here early today by a man hired to set up tents for the ceremony, police said.
Already fighting public anger over the rape of a teen allegedly by a ruling party MLA in Unnao, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, in a quick damage control move, invoked the stringent National Security Act against the alleged rapist.
Enraged over the heinous crime, the victim’s family blocked the Etah-Farrukhabad road, while opposition parties slammed the Yogi Adityanath government for the “sudden spurt” in rape cases.
The protesters, demanding Rs 10 lakh as compensation, lifted the blockade after a couple of hours following an assurance from Premlata Verma David, wife of Etah MLA Vipin Kumar David, that their demands will be looked into, police said.
According to police, the incident took place at around 1.30 AM near Mandi Samiti gate on Aliganj road where the girl had gone with her family to attend the wedding.
Sonu Jatav (19), who was given the task of putting up tents for the marriage ceremony lured the girl, raped her and subsequently killed her, Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Chaurasia said.
He said the man was in an inebriated state.
“After this, the accused fled the spot. The body of the girl was found in an under-construction house in the vicinity of the marriage venue. A rope was found tied around the neck of the girl,” he said. PTI