Macazana murder: Stepdad killed girl after sexually assaulting her, say police

Margao: The investigation into the murder of a six-year-old girl at Macazana has taken a darker turn, with police revealing that the victim was sexually assaulted before being killed. The accused, Saleem Dambal (28), who was arrested from Gadag, Karnataka, is now facing additional charges of sexual assault along with murder.
The sexual assault was confirmed through a medical examination of the body of the deceased. Investigators believe that the accused may have beaten the child to death to prevent her from revealing the abuse. Police said Dambal was the victim’s stepfather.
The murder occurred on April 29 when the girl’s mother was away washing clothes. Initially reported as a case of fatal beating, the case has now revealed a more sinister sequence of events.
The girl’s mother previously left her husband at Gadag to live with Dambal, bringing her two children along. Despite Dambal’s assurances of treating the children as his own, there were previous instances of him physically abusing both minors, sources privy to the investigation said.
The accused, who fled to his hometown Gadag after the murder, was apprehended following an extensive police manhunt. He has been booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, for murder and causing hurt, along with the relevant sections of the Goa Children’s Act, 2003. Additional charges related to sexual assault have now been added.
The family moved to Goa barely a month before the horror, seeking better livelihood opportunities, with Dambal working at a construction site at Macazana.
The investigation is under way, with police gathering additional evidence.