Surat Case

In a major breakthrough in the alleged rape and murder case of a minor girl in Surat, the police have arrested the prime accused from Rajasthan. As per the investigation, the girl and her widowed mother – who belonged to Gangapur in Rajasthan – were brought by the accused for Rs 35,000 to be used as bonded labourers.

Notably, three-four days after the minor’s body was found, the police had recovered the body of a woman and had claimed that chances are ‘high’ that the woman might be victim’s mother.

The Crime Branch arrested Harsayai Gurjar (35) from Gangapur in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district and detained three others – Harisinh, Naresh and Amarsinh – on Friday.

Harsayai bought the girl and her widowed mother on March 15. He kept them confined in a room of this three-storey house in Surat where the mother-daughter duo was repeatedly raped by him. As per reports, he even threatened the woman of her life when she objected to his advances.

A report quotes police officials as claiming that after the woman went missing on March 20, Harsayai held the girl captive in Harisinh’s room in Surat and continued to torture and rape her. The girl was strangulated to death on April 5, police further add.

Speaking to TOI, Crime Branch Inspector Kiran Chaudhary said that Harsayai dumped the girl’s body in bushes on the Jiav-Budiya Road which is nearly 2 km from his house.

The police have seized Harsayai’s car in which he took the body for dumping.

On April 15, the crime branch was roped in to carry out the investigation in the case after Gujarat Police failed to get any leads.

The body of a minor girl, possibly 9-11 years of age, was found in the bushes in the Pandesara area on April 6. It 86 injury marks, including on the private parts. A doctor at the city civil hospital had said the nature of her injuries suggested she had been held captive, tortured and raped. The postmortem report stated that she was strangulated to death.

With regard to the case, the police had lodged an FIR was lodged under sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 376 (rape), and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against unidentified persons.