Hyderabad: For five hours, an 11-year-old girl tried to mislead the police investigating the death of a 14-month-old girl near Jalavihar by saying that the toddler had been kidnapped by an unidentified person on Thursday.
She later confessed that she had pushed the victim, Pitta Akshara, into a 15-foot deep sump with a four-foot opening, which was left open. Ramgopalpet police who initially registered a case of suspicious death altered case to murder and apprehended the 11-year-old girl. DCP, Central Zone, Vishwaprasad said she was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a juvenile home on Friday.
The girl was residing with her grandparents at Vizianagaram and completed Class V. As she was very aggressive and not interested in studies, she was sent to her parents, a police officer said.
After analysing CCTV footage in the area, police found that Akshara was seen playing with a few other kids from the area. In one clip, Akshara was last seen with the minor before she went missing. The footage was not clear as the camera was at a distance and the police had to enhance the image to identify the girl.
On Friday, after trying to mislead the police for five hours, the minor admitted that she had pushed Akshara into the sump. She told the police that Akshara had bitten her on the left hand on Wednesday while playing. When Akshara bit her again on Thursday, she decided to take revenge, the girl told the police.
A police officer said the minor took Akshara away from the play area. Akshara started crying and, when she did not stop, the girl took her towards the sump and pushed her into it. Then, she rushed to the toddler’s parents and informed them that some unidentified persons kidnapped Akshara, the police said.
The worried parents started searching for the child and approached the police. The rumours on social media regarding prowling gangs added to their worry.
Police after analysing the CCTV footage found no suspicious movement in the area and ruled out kidnap angle. They began searching the area and found Akshara’s body in the sump that collects sewage water from Jalavihar. It is usually closed but had been left open for two days for repair work.
Inquiries revealed that Akshara’s parents and those of the minor were working in the housekeeping department at Jalavihar and they had differences over sharing work, due to which they had arguments at home as well. Akshara’s family resides in Shed No 5, while the juvenile girl’s family resides nearby. The arguments between their parents could have had an effect on the juvenile girl and could have triggered her to act violently after being bitten, a police officer said.
