Image Source: Agencies

Aug 20, 2025: In Rajasthan Hanumangarh district, a distant relative brutally raped and killed a young girl. The incident took place on the night of Janmashtami. According to police officials, the young girl had gone to play at a relative's house on Saturday night to partake in Janmashtami festivities.

However, she did not return home. Her lifeless body was discovered early the following morning after her family spent an anxious night searching for her for hours. Before being strangled to death, preliminary investigations revealed that the girl had been sexually abused. Police are said to have arrested the accused, who is believed to be a distant relative of the victim.

According to Hanumangarh SP Hari Shankar, the accused, Chhotu Dass alias Mukesh, is a distant relative of the girl. He is married in Ludhiana and originally hails from the Darbhanga district of Bihar. He used to frequently visit the family. That evening, the accused was drunk. When the girl came home, he first raped her and then strangled her to death when she protested. His wife had left for Ludhiana, so he was by himself.

According to the investigation, the accused put the girl's body in a bag and put it in an iron box after the murder. The accused was planning to dispose of the body on Sunday night, but the police team caught him before he could do so. The post-mortem report has confirmed death due to rape and strangulation. The POCSO Act is also being investigated, and a rape and murder case has been filed.

Investigation revealed that the accused had bought liquor from an illegal liquor shop operated in the locality under the guise of a warehouse for months, where liquor was being sold openly.

Excise Inspector Princedeep arrived on the scene when the situation got out of hand and sealed the shop. Sanjeev Patwari, a district excise officer, acknowledged that the shop was illegal, but claimed that no one had complained about it.

The victim's father claimed that the girl had gone out to play in the evening, but he started looking for her when she didn't come back at night. The next day, the police were informed. This event is the subject of protests. Women's groups are requesting that all of these illegal liquor stores be closed.