New Delhi, May 24 : A 3.5-year-old girl was abducted and murdered, and the body dumped in a drain by her neighbour in southwest Delhi's Kapashera area, an official said on Friday.

Sharing the details, police said that on Wednesday at 8.51 p.m. a police control room (PCR) call was received regarding the abduction of a minor girl in street No. 9, Kapashera following which a police team was dispatched to the spot.

The victim's mother told police that she has been staying here with her family in a rented accommodation for the last five years. 'On Wednesday, at about 6 p.m., her 3.5-year-old daughter was kidnapped by a neighbour named Anil,' she told police.

'A massive search operation was launched to trace the girl and the accused. The team obtained CCTV footage from the cameras in the vicinity, and in one camera, at 7.05 p.m., the accused was seen with the girl going towards Ganda Nala. In the same camera, he was caught returning alone without the girl at around 7.25 p.m.,' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Rohit Meena.

The accused, Anil (34), was traced and apprehended at about 11.55 p.m. the same day from inside a bus heading towards Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

He was interrogated and initially denied having played any role whatsoever in the kidnapping. But during sustained interrogation, he broke down and admitted to having killed and dumped the little girl in a marshy drain located at the border of Gurugram and Kapashera.

'Anil then led the police team to the said drain, where the search for the girl's body was conducted in a vast expanse of marshy terrain, dense bushes, and heaps of garbage. After a long search operation lasting more than an hour in the dark, the girl's body was finally found dumped in the marshy drain,' said the DCP.

At that moment, the accused even sensed an opportunity to escape. 'He grabbed the loaded service revolver of a police officer, tried to escape from custody, and fired at the police team. The police fired in self-defence, hitting the accused. He was immediately rushed to Indira Gandhi Hospital,' said the DCP.

The crime and FSL teams were summoned to the spot. 'The dead body was examined by the FSL and crime team. The accused was arrested and is now in judicial custody. A post-mortem of the victim is being conducted by a medical board,' said the DCP.

/IANS