A 12-year-old girl was raped and murdered by a tenant living in her home here in Dhanusha on Tuesday.

Krishna Dev Sah's daughter, Bibika Kumari Sah, of Musahar settlement of Janakpur Sub Metropolitan City was murdered after rape.

Ram Chandra Mahato Nuniya, 40, from Bela area of Dhanusa, is accused of raping the girl at 4 pm on Tuesday. The accused has been living as a tenant in the same house for the past three years along with his family.

Bibika had been living with her mother Bimala Devi Sah, nine – year – old sister Pushpa and a two – year – old brother. Her father, Krishna Dev, had died in the past.

The heinous crime took place when Bimala Devi was away in the market for shopping. Ram Chandra found the two sisters alone and asked Pushpa – the younger sister – to buy something from a shop.

Recounting the incident, Pushpa said she heard cries coming from her elder sister when she reached the main entrance of the house after returning from the shop. "I tried to push open the door and banged on it, and shouted asking it be opened, but it did not open and after a while the cries from my sister stopped," she said.

Pushpa's shouts had gathered the neighbours at the front entrance and her mother had also arrived from the market. When everyone tried to break down the door, Ram Chandra opened it himself.

The search for Bibika by the neighbours and the mother led to a steel trunk in Ram Chandra's room. Ram Chandra's reluctance to open the trunk created more suspicion. The victim's body was found in the trunk wrapped by a bedsheet.

Following an inquest at the site, the police have sent the victim's body to Janakpur Zonal Hospital for an autopsy. The authorities have arrested the suspect Ram Chandra and his wife Pabita.

Police suspect that the girl was strangled to death after rape. The investigation into the incident is continuing, according to District Police Office, Dhanusa. RSS