Usgao girl murdered over feud with parents, couple confess

Colva: The five-year-old girl at Tisk-Usgao whose body was discovered in her neighbour's house was murdered because of a feud between a victim's parent and one of the murder suspects, said police. Tikam Singh Verma, South Goa superintendent of police (SP), said the crime stemmed from a personal dispute. “Babasaheb Albat, 52, and his wife Pooja, 39, killed the child due to an altercation with her mother,” Verma said during a press briefing on Friday.

The girl’s parents filed a kidnapping complaint on Wednesday, and her body was discovered on Thursday at the couple's house, who stayed in the neighbourhood. Singh said Albat has confessed during interrogation that he and his wife murdered the child and buried her inside their house. Police, in the presence of the deputy collector of Ponda, surgeon, and a forensic team, exhumed the child’s body.

“The forensic team ruled out any evidence linking the murder to black magic. The post-mortem confirmed that the child’s death was caused by “asphyxia due to simultaneous compression of the head, nostrils, and mouth, with minor signs of immersion in water,” Singh said.

A few days after an altercation between the victim’s mother and the suspect, a police official said the husband-and-wife duo lured the child with sweets while she was playing outside and took her inside their house.

Babasaheb, a native of Maharashtra, was arrested on Thursday, while his wife was taken into custody on Friday. Judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Ponda, has remanded the couple in six days of police custody. Ponda police are continuing their investigation.

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