A family friend allegedly murdered a 14-year-old girl, daughter of an Ayurveda doctor, and made off with cash amounting to Rs 25 lakh in Greater Noida. The police apprehended the suspect, identified as Pradeep Vishwas, 47, shortly after the incident. Vishwas, a resident of Sector-82, had known the victim’s family for several years.

According to the authorities, the incident took place on Tuesday evening at the Bairagi family’s residence in Saraswati Enclave, Purana Sutyana. The victim’s father, Sudarshan Bairagi, had gone to his clinic in Sector-93, Phase-2, accompanied by his wife and two other children. Their 14-year-old daughter, Shilpi, was home alone at the time.

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“During the interrogation, the accused admitted that he strangled his own friend’s daughter and ran away after looting the money and other valuables kept in the house. Vishwas is a vicious type of criminal, his criminal history and other detailed information are being sought,” Ecotech-3 police station officials said. 

Police described Vishwas as a dangerous criminal and are in the process of gathering more information about his criminal history.

Pradeep Vishwas attempted to escape custody while being transported to the police station. The accused managed to snatch a police pistol from one of the accompanying officers. However, Vishwas sustained a bullet wound to his leg as the police tried to prevent him from escaping.

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“After apprehending the accused, we conducted a search of his residence in Sector-82, where we discovered Rs 7.58 lakh in cash and various items of jewelry. As we were taking the accused to Kulesara Pusta, he requested a stop, citing the need to relieve himself. It was then that he attempted to escape by seizing a government-issued pistol from one of the officers accompanying him,” DCP (Central Noida), Anil Kumar Yadav, said, elaborating on the incident. 

The Ecotech-3 police station has filed charges against Pradeep Vishwas under Sections 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.