Surat minor's rape case: DNA test on two bodies confirms mother-daughter relation; police still unsure of identity

Surat: The DNA test conducted on a minor girl, the victim of alleged rape and killing, and another woman, whose bodies were found in different parts of Surat city earlier this month, has established their relationship as mother and daughter, a senior police officer said on Monday. The body of the girl, found from near a playground in Pandesara area of the city, had 86 injury marks. A doctor had said that the girl, who was around 9 to 11 years of age, was possibly raped before she was killed. However, police are yet to ascertain the identity of the girl and the woman. [caption id=“attachment_4323053” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] Police had arrested a man, identified as Harsh Sahay Gurjar, on 20 April from Ganganagar in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan for allegedly raping the girl and killing her and her mother. “The DNA test has confirmed that the minor girl was the daughter of that woman. As of now, we only know that both the mother-daughter duo were brought to Surat by Gurjar from Rajasthan. But, it is yet not clear where exactly they hail from. We are yet to identify them,” said Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma. Investigations have also revealed that Gurjar had first killed the woman and then her daughter as the latter was an eye witness to the killing of her mother. “Gurjar first killed the woman and threw her body into the bushes near a road in Sachin area of Surat. Then, he killed the minor girl and dumped her body in Pandesara area of the city. The girl was killed because she was an eye witness to the killing of her mother,” said Sharma. Police are also probing whether the mother-daughter duo were the victims of human trafficking. During questioning, Gurjar confessed to having killed the girl and her mother, said Sharma. The police commissioner on Sunday said the man who handed over both the woman and her daughter to Gurjar had demanded Rs 35,000 for them. Police had zeroed in on Gurjar while tracing a black car, allegedly used to dump the bodies of the two victims. The car was captured by police while analysing the CCTV footage of Pandesara area.