Ghaziabad child rape horror: Autopsy details 3 severe brick blows to head, bite marks; accused shot in police encounter

• Four-year-old girl raped and murdered in Nandgram, Ghaziabad
• Accused detained, confessed, and shot during police encounter
• Villagers protest, demanding strict punishment for the accused

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A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by a neighbour who lured her away from her home with the promise of a chocolate. The 24-year-old accused, a factory labourer residing in the same locality, was detained by police within hours of the crime, according to a TOI report.

The child's body was discovered in a bush, approximately 500 metres from her residence in the Nandgram area, late on Wednesday night. Police were alerted via a Dial 112 call reporting a critically injured child. Upon arrival, officials reportedly found the girl with severe head wounds and rushed her to a nearby hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

The victim's father, a daily wage labourer, reported his daughter missing around 7 pm when he returned from work. He stated that other children in the neighbourhood had seen the accused taking her away, enticing her with a chocolate, as per the report.

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Ghaziabad ACP Ziauddin Ahmad says, "In a case registered at Nandgram police station on March 18, the accused, Gaurav Prajapati..., revealed during interrogation that he had murdered a minor girl and that after the murder, he had wiped his blood-stained… pic.twitter.com/ZsoqSmo3QH

— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2026

A frantic search involving family and neighbours ensued. Around 8:45 pm, they located the accused in an isolated farm area. When confronted by the father, the man allegedly directed him to go ahead to find the child. The family soon discovered the girl lying in a pool of blood, grievously injured.

In a dramatic turn of events early Thursday morning, the accused opened fire at police and was shot in both legs during an encounter, ANI reported. Ghaziabad ACP Ziauddin Ahmad stated that a case was registered at Nandgram police station on March 18 against the accused, identified as Gaurav Prajapati. During interrogation, Prajapati revealed that he had murdered the minor girl and, after the crime, wiped his blood-stained hands with a handkerchief and threw it in a bush near the scene.

Based on the accused's disclosure, a police team took him to the crime scene for recovery of evidence. The ACP said that Prajapati then fired at the police with an illegal weapon he had previously concealed, attempting to attack them with intent to kill. The police retaliated in self-defence, shooting the accused in both legs. An illegal weapon and cartridges were recovered from his possession. The injured accused has been sent to the district hospital in Ghaziabad for treatment, with further legal action underway, the ACP added.

DCP (City) Dhawal Jaiswal was cited by TOI as saying that the accused was apprehended swiftly, adding that the body was sent for an autopsy and the accused was being questioned.

The postmortem examination revealed the extent of the brutality. Nandgram SHO Umesh Kumar detailed that the autopsy report showed 11 injury marks on the child's body, TOI reported. These included three severe blows to the head with a brick or stone, signs of strangulation and smothering, bite marks and injuries to her private parts, confirming sexual assault.

During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to the crime, stating that he killed the girl so that no one would know about the offence.

The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence). Officials confirmed that relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act would also be added to the case.

According to police cited in the report, the accused lives in the neighbourhood with his father, brother and sister-in-law. The victim's mother has not lived with the family since 2022, when the child was just six months old. The father, who goes out to work daily, said his eldest son, aged 12, often looks after the younger children and cooks for them.

The gruesome nature of the crime led to protests by villagers outside the Nandgram police station, with demonstrators demanding the strictest possible punishment for the accused. Five police teams were formed immediately after the incident to ensure the swift arrest.