A 13-year-old girl who went missing three days ago was found dead along a highway, with her mother alleging that she was gang-raped by a local BJP worker and his accomplice before being murdered, police reported on Wednesday.
The body was discovered along the highway in the Bahadrabad area near the Patanjali Research Centre on Tuesday morning, they added.
The main accused, Adityaraj Saini, was a member of the local BJP OBC Morcha. The party expelled him from his primary membership on Tuesday, according to a letter issued by state BJP general secretary Aditya Kothari.
The girl’s mother claimed that Adityaraj, who is the husband of a village head, was in a relationship with her daughter, who went missing on Sunday evening.
When the mother called her daughter’s mobile phone, Adityaraj answered and said the girl was with him. The phone was then switched off, according to the mother’s complaint.
After the teenager did not return home by the next morning, the mother went to Adityaraj’s house, where his accomplice Amit Saini also resides, but could not find her daughter.
When she threatened to go to the police, Adityaraj pressured her not to and threatened to kill her if she did.
Despite the threats, the girl’s mother approached the police and lodged a missing persons report on Monday.
After the body was found on Tuesday, the mother alleged that her daughter had been gang-raped and murdered by Adityaraj and Amit.
Based on her complaint, the two men have been booked for gang rape and murder under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, according to SP Pramendra Dobhal.
Mr. Dobhal said the case is serious and five police teams have been formed to investigate it.
Adityaraj had sought a party ticket in the last assembly elections.