11 year old girl sexually assaulted and then strangled to death

Gangtok (IANS) | Sikkim is in panic after an 11-year-old girl from Gangtok was sexually assaulted and then strangled to death. Police have arrested Pritam Sharma (29), who is originally from Bihar but drives a taxi in Gangtok. The Special Investigation Team in Gangtok made the arrest on Monday.

The accused has been booked under IPC section 302 and sent to police remand for 14 days till May 1 by a local court. According to the police, the victim’s body was found on April 14 in a deserted forest near Panthang on the outskirts of Gangtok. The victim’s mother had lodged a missing report since April 10.

Police tracked down Pritam, who had been driving taxis in Gangtok for the past 10 years, on the basis of CCTV footage from various locations. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, senior police officials said that during interrogation, the accused confessed to sexually assaulting and strangulating the victim. Police said the accused, who was in school uniform, had given the victim a lift in his taxi as it was raining, but instead took her to an isolated forest.

The victim’s mother and her relatives have demanded that the accused be hanged.

–IANS