Ghaziabad, 18 Mar

A man allegedly raped and strangled his seven-year-old daughter in the Loni Border area, later fabricating a story to frame a neighbour, police said on Tuesday.

According to Assistant Police Commissioner (Ankur Vihar) Ajay Kumar Singh, Gyan Singh initially claimed that his daughter died on 12 March  after consuming kadhi (curry) given by their neighbour, Shanti Devi.

He also alleged that his wife and five other children also fell ill after eating the same food.

Following his complaint, police registered an FIR and arrested Shanti Devi under Section 105 of the BNS.

Singh took his daughter to Delhi's GTB Hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead. The remaining five children, after receiving treatment, were discharged.

He, however, refused to allow the post-mortem of the girl and brought her body back home.

Suspicious, police ordered a post-mortem at the local MMG District Hospital, where the medical report confirmed sexual assault and strangulation, the officer said.

On Monday, Loni Border police arrested Gyan Singh near GDA Park in Seva Dham.

During interrogation, he confessed to raping his daughter on the night of 12 March out of "sexual excitement," after which he strangled her to death.

He also confessed to trying to frame Shanti Devi by filing a false complaint, the ACP said.