Overview
- The six-year-old girl, who was found unconscious near a pond on June 19, was treated at a local health centre and a formal complaint under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences was filed.
- After CCTV checks and local questioning produced no lead, Sambhal police deployed Mary, a seven-year-old Labrador, who sniffed a recovered gamcha and tracked a scent through lanes to the accused’s house a few hundred metres away.
- Police say the accused fled, fired at officers during a later encounter, was wounded in return fire, was taken into custody and a country-made pistol and ammunition were recovered.
- Officers conducted a scent identification parade in which Mary indicated the suspect and police reported a subsequent confession and formal POCSO charges; scent evidence is presented by police as an investigative lead that courts must corroborate through the legal process.
- Sambhal officials presented Mary a Rs 10,000 cash reward and sought formal commendation for her handler, and authorities say the case underscores the practical value of K-9 units in investigations with no CCTV or eyewitnesses.