East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Syiem on Monday informed that investigations into the death of a four-year-old girl have progressed further to determine whether there was any sexual motive behind the crime, even though there are no physical signs of sexual assault.
“The investigation has gone further to try to ascertain whether there was any motive for sexual assault, as the police found that the juvenile was exposed to a lot of adult content,” Syiem said.
He clarified that while medical examinations ruled out sexual assault, investigators are probing whether exposure to such content could have influenced the juvenile’s actions. “Though there is no sign of sexual assault on the child, we are exploring the possibility of a motive. That takes some time because we have incriminating evidence suggesting the child was exposed to a lot of adult material,” the SP explained.
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Syiem also highlighted that the investigation was time-consuming as the accused is a minor, and all procedures had to be conducted under the supervision of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). “Since it was already ascertained that the 13-year-old was involved, the process took longer. The accused could not be treated like a normal or adult criminal. The interrogation and examination were carried out only under the CWC’s monitoring, with counsellors present,” he said.
The SP confirmed that the juvenile was the only person present with the victim at the time of her death. “Initially, we had to establish whether the death was accidental or homicidal. After further examinations, it was confirmed that it was a case of homicide,” Syiem stated.
He reiterated that the police are now working to understand the underlying motive and will await the results of further forensic and psychological evaluations before deciding on the next course of action.
It may be mentioned that the body of the four-year-old girl was discovered near her home in Nongrah Nonglum on the morning of September 15. The child’s body was recovered from an under-construction house in the area. A rock had been placed on her body, weighing it down in a small rainwater pit.
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