Autopsy on Gwalior girl beaten on suspicion of theft confirms murder

Bhopal: The autopsy on Alina, an eight-year-old girl Gwalior’s Bara village whose death had initially raised murder suspicion, has confirmed that she was killed after receiving a brutal beating over money allegedly stolen from a neighbour’s piggy bank.The preliminary post-mortem report, received on Friday, found more than 10 external and internal injuries on the child’s body, from head to toe. Doctors concluded that she died due to internal haemorrhaging and failure of vital organs caused by severe physical assault.Following the findings, police arrested Amin Khan, the accused neighbour and booked him for murder.According to investigating officers, Alina had wandered into Khan’s house while playing on Thursday evening.

The house was unoccupied at the time.A passerby reportedly spotted the girl near the house and informed Khan.Khan later found the child at a nearby shop, sipping a soft drink and grilled her over the piggy bank, the police said, adding that the minor allegedly admitted to taking the money that was later recovered.However, the sleuths said the neighbour continued to seethe even after he got back the lost money, adding they suspect that he then took the child away and beat her up.

It was alleged that the beating was so severe that little Alina could barely walk when she returned home.Senior Superintendent of Police Dharamveer Yadav told TOI, “The girl was beaten by the neighbour on suspicion of theft. She had been living with her alcoholic father and two sisters in a small house after her mother left the family. We arrested the neighbour, booked him for murder and put him behind bars.”“I can’t imagine that a small girl from an already broken family lost her life over a small amount of money allegedly stolen from a piggy bank,” he added.Residents said the girl often spotted playing in the village lanes while her father struggled with alcoholism and poverty.Unaware of the severity of her injuries, her father did not seek urgent medical help. By the time he realised something was wrong, it was too late.“Alina must have spent the night writhing in pain,” an officer said, adding, “she was found dead on her bed the next morning.”The forensic findings also helped investigators dismiss early claims that the accused had merely questioned the girl. Scientific evidence and the preliminary post-mortem report pointed, instead, to a sustained and violent assault.