Murder of 3-year-old: Neighbour held

The body of a three-year-old girl, with injuries indicating sexual assault, was found in a dumpyard at Thiruvottiyur in north Chennai, weeks after residents in Mugalivakkam in the south held protests over the sexual assault and murder of a seven-and-a-half-year-old.

Rithika, daughter of a fisherman called Palani, was living with her parents and elder brother (12) at the Tsunami Settlement at Ennore in the city.

On Saturday evening, while her father was out for work, her mother Kalaivani, who was not feeling well, was sleeping in their house. When Rithika was playing outside with her brother and other children, a neighbour Revathi took her away.

Police said Rithika was abducted by Revathi who had stolen her anklet and earring before killing her and dumping the body.

According to an official who was present at the Thiruvottiyur dumpyard when the body was found, the three-year-old’s “mouth was stuffed with cloth and had been gagged. There were also injuries on her head.”