Mumbai, December 12: The city police is on the hunt to arrest a 38-year-old man in Thane, accused of killing his nine-year-old niece, whom he had informally adopted. The girl was trying to adapt to an urban lifestyle and frequently soiled her clothes. His wife and a relative helped him to commit the crime and dispose of the body.

Last year, the accused Prakash Rathod convinced his sister-in-law to allow her daughter to stay with his family and he assured that a better lifestyle would be given to the minor. However, the girl was frequently tortured and made to do all household work and help his wife in their tailoring business. When she failed to cope up with the workload, they used to beat her up. Kolkata Horror: 65-Year-Old Woman Murdered, Head Severed And Stabbed 24 Times, Police Suspect Revenge as Motive.

The report further mentioned that the girl was not able to use the commode and as a result of which, she used to soil her clothes. A similar incident happened on the day of her murder when Prakash found that she had soiled her clothes. This infuriated him, and he punched her the chest and strangulated her, reportedly killing her.

On realising that the girl had died, they decided to dispose of her body. A plastic drum was purchased and a hole was made in it to pass through a bamboo. Her dead body was then filled inside a nylon bag and dumped in the drum, which was covered with cement and sand mix.

They kept the drum at their home for one month, before deciding to dispose of in Kasara ghat. In meanwhile, the deceased's mother suspected something was amiss when she was not able to get in touch with her child for more than a month. The wife spilled all the beans before the police when they interrogated her.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 13, 2019 12:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).