New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report about the abduction, rape and murder of a minor girl and the death of the arrested accused in a police encounter in Hubballi, Karnataka. Reportedly, the incident happened on April 14, 2025.
“The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious violation of the human rights of the victim minor girl, and the arrested suspected perpetrator, killed in an alleged encounter,” as per a National Human Rights Commission release.
Therefore, the Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Government of Karnataka, calling for a detailed report in the matter within four weeks. The report is expected to include the post-mortem examination and the Magisterial Enquiry Reports of both the deceased.
“According to the media report, carried on 14th April, 2025, soon after the girl’s body was recovered from the bathroom, the angry residents protested outside Ashok Nagar police station, demanding the arrest of the accused. Reportedly, he was nabbed by the police within hours of the incident and was being taken for questioning when he tried to attack them, resulting in gunshot injuries to him, leading to his death,” the release read.
On April 15, Hubballi Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that police is out to trace details of Ritesh Kumar, the prime accused in a heinous case involving the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl, who was shot dead in an encounter after allegedly attempting to escape police custody.
Speaking to mediapersons, Commissioner Kumar said, “Day before yesterday, there was an incident here, where a 5-year-old girl was killed. After that, while the accused was taken to get further details, he tried to escape from the police custody. In the process, there was a struggle, following which our local officer fired in the air and then on the individual who tried to run away from the custody of the police. When he was brought to the Police Station, he was declared dead.” (With inputs from ANI)
