A 13-year-old girl who went missing three days ago was found dead along Haridwar highway on Wednesday. Her mother alleges she was gang-raped by a local BJP leader and his accomplice before being murdered, police said.
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 local leader of the BJP OBC Morcha.
The party announced that he has been expelled 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 suddenly went missing on Sunday evening.
When she called her daughter’s mobile phone, Adityaraj answered and said the girl was with him. The phone was switched off afterward, the victim’s mother stated in her complaint.
After the teenager did not return home by the next morning, the woman went to Adityaraj’s house, where his accomplice, Amit Saini, also resides, but could not find her daughter.
When she threatened to report the matter to the police, Adityaraj pressured her not to do so and threatened to kill her if she did.
Despite the threats, the girl’s mother approached the police and lodged a missing person complaint on Monday.
After the body was found on Tuesday, the woman alleged that her daughter was gang-raped and killed by Adityaraj and Amit Saini.
Based on her complaint, the duo has 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.
Dobhal stated that the matter is serious and five police teams have been formed to investigate it.
Adityaraj had sought a party ticket in the last assembly polls.
