Shillong: A 13-year-old boy has been taken into custody in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district in connection with the death of a four-year-old girl, police said on Wednesday.
The Juvenile Justice Board has sent him to a juvenile home while investigations continue.
The case is being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the team will “continue to investigate every aspect of the case to ensure that nothing is left out.”
The girl was reported missing on the morning of September 14 while playing near her home. Despite extensive searches by police, villagers, and a dog squad, heavy rains hampered the operation. Her body was recovered the next evening, about 100 metres from her residence, at a construction site. Her father subsequently lodged a murder case.
During questioning, the teenager admitted that he had taken the girl to the construction site. He claimed that while washing his feet, he slipped and accidentally pulled her into a water-filled cavity where she drowned.
In panic, he placed a stone on her body and later fabricated a story about masked men in a black Scorpio attempting to abduct her, police said.
The girl’s death and the false abduction narrative had sparked widespread outrage in Shillong, leading to protests and demands for swift justice from civil society groups, student unions, and residents.
An autopsy revealed the child died due to drowning and suffocation. It also ruled out sexual assault or ante-mortem injuries, confirming that her jewellery remained intact. Injury marks on the boy’s feet supported his account, investigators noted.
Police said the boy became a prime suspect after three days of sustained interrogation and evidence analysis. The SIT has 90 days to file the chargesheet and will continue probing the boy’s background and any possible additional motives.