Patna man, accused of kidnapping, murdering 5-year-old girl in Karnataka, killed in police ‘encounter’

A 35-year-old man, who kidnapped and killed a minor girl in Karnataka's Hubballi, was killed in an encounter as he tried to flee from police trying to nab him, officials said on Sunday.

The accused was identified as Ritesh Kumar, police said, adding that he was accused of kidnapping and killing a four to five-year-old girl. Kumar, hailing from Patna, attempted to flee from police.

“This morning in the Vijayanagara area, within the Ashok Nagar police station limits of Hubballi-Dharwad City Commissionerate, a four to five-year-old girl's body was found in an abandoned shed. Following verification of CCTV footage and information from locals, the girl's body was located... The accused, identified as Ritesh Kumar (35) from Patna, Bihar, attempted to flee,” Hubballi police chief N Shashi Kumar was quoted as saying by IANS.

The accused allegedly damaged police vehicles, pelted stones at officers and assaulted them. The police fired their shots in an encounter, injuring Kumar fatally.

“During the escape attempt, he damaged the police vehicle, assaulted the officers and threw stones at them. In self-defense, PSI Annapurna fired warning shots and then shot at the accused, injuring him in the leg and chest,” the senior police official was quoted as saying.

According to a report by NDTV, the police was taking the accused to his place of stay to ascertain his identity when he attacked the team.

Shashi Kumar further said that Ritesh Kumar was immediately taken to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead, as per the NDTV report.

Hubballi: Man kidnaps, kills minor girl

A 5-year-old girl child was allegedly kidnapped and killed by the man in Hubballi on Sunday.

According to the NDTV report, he was facing charges of murder as well as rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The incident occurred at the Ashok Nagar police station limits here and the body was found in an abandoned building, police said earlier in the day.

At the time, they had not confirmed reports of sexual assaults but revealed investigations were underway to ascertain it.

The incident sparked a huge protest, with a large number of residents from the locality gathering in front of Ashok Nagar police station and demanding justice.

Victim was with mother

The victim's family hails from Koppal district. Her mother worked as a house maid and as an assistant at a beauty parlor while her father worked as a painter, Shashi Kumar had said earlier.

“The mother had taken her daughter for work, as she was working at the houses in the locality. An unidentified man had taken the girl from there. On searching, the girl was found in the bathroom of a small sheet roofed building in front of the house from where she had gone missing. She was immediately shifted to hospital, where she was declared brought dead,” he said.