8-Year-Old Girl Bludgeoned to Death For Resisting Rape

An 8-year-old girl has been bludgeoned to death by a 28-year-old man after she resisted rape.

The incident happened in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh Saturday. The girl was found dead with her head smashed with a hard object. She was murdered after 28-year-old Sandeep Jain had attempted to rape her, a report from Times Now News said.

The girl, who lived in the city of Jhansi, left her home Saturday morning to get some milk. The girl did not return home even after a long time and her family started to frantically search for her. Hours later, the girl's blood-soaked body wrapped in a cloth was found on a vacant lot near her home.

An initial investigation conducted, after which a suspect, a laborer who worked in the area where the victim's body had been found, was identified.

"Within hours of investigation and statement of the victim's father, it was established that the key accused is Sandeep Jain, who by that time had absconded from the place," police said as per local news outlet Times Of India.

The suspect, who had fled the state following the incident, was arrested from the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh.

Jain admitted to the police that he had attempted to rape the 8-year-old girl after luring her into his room. When the girl resisted his attempts to sexually assault her, he severely battered her with a wooden stick before hitting her with a stone.

The girl suffered serious injuries and died in the attack. Jain then wrapped the victim's body in a cloth and dumped it in the vacant lot.

The police are awaiting an autopsy report to confirm the sexual assault. "Anything could be conclusively said only after the post-mortem report is received," Times of India quoted the police as saying.

The police have registered a case against Jain on charges of murder, sexual offense against a minor and tampering with the evidence.

In a similar incident in January, a 36-year-old man was arrested for raping his friend's 14-year-old daughter, bludgeoning her with a rock and trying to bury her alive. The police arrested 36-year-old Sushil Verma on charges of rape and attempt to murder after the teen girl had been found unconscious and buried alive under slabs of stone.