The Delhi police have arrested a man, identified as Bashu Kumar Singh, for allegedly abducting an 11-year-old girl from Mehrauli in south Delhi, raping and murdering her and then disposing of her body in a forest along the Gurugram-Faridabad road, a senior officer said on Tuesday.

Nabbed within 6 hours

The accused, a 29-year-old cab driver with a ride-hailing app, was arrested on Monday, less than six hours after the offence was reported, while he was dropping off a passenger, the officer added.

He was booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to rape, murder and kidnapping, and under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

On Tuesday, he was produced before a city court, which remanded him in two days of police custody.

‘Shot during escape bid’

Mr. Singh was subsequently being taken to the crime scenes to re-enact the sequence but on the way, he tried to escape, said the police.

“Bashu snatched a policeman’s pistol and fired at the team. In self-defence, the police team had to return fire, during which he sustained a gunshot wound to his leg. He was taken to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, where he continues to receive treatment,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal.

The officer said that as per the preliminary investigation, the accused was alone when he perpetrated the crime.

The DCP said five criminal cases are registered against the accused in Bihar, his home State — four for sexual assault and one for attempted murder.

5 a.m. incident

“The incident took place around 5 a.m. while the girl was sleeping with her family on the pavement at CDR Chowk in Mehrauli. Bashu drove close to the girl, abducted her and drove away,” said Mr. Mittal. He added, “The family raised an alarm immediately and informed the police. A case of kidnapping was registered, and nearly 20 teams were constituted to trace the minor girl.”

Using local intelligence and CCTV footage, the police were able to track the movements of the cab with a Haryana registration number plate, the DCP said.

The police zeroed in on his location and arrested him within six hours while he was dropping off a passenger, he added.

“During interrogation, Bashu confessed to abducting the minor, sexually assaulting her and later strangling her to death,” the officer added.

Body sent for autopsy

The accused disclosed the location where he had disposed of the minor’s body, following which the police recovered it and sent it for a post-mortem examination at Safdarjung Hospital.

A Forensic Science Laboratory team has collected samples from the spot where the minor was kidnapped and from the place where her body was dumped and sent them for analysis, said the officer, adding that the exact sequence of events is yet to be ascertained.