A man accused of kidnapping and murdering a four-and-a-half-year-old girl was killed in a police encounter in Gujarat’s Anand district late on Sunday (July 19, 2026), after he allegedly attacked two policemen with a concealed knife while attempting to escape from custody, police said.
Inspector General of Police, Ahmedabad Range, Raghavendra Vatsa, said the accused, identified as Suresh Parmar, was shot in self-defence after he continued attacking police personnel despite repeated warnings to surrender.
Two policemen injured
“An accused in the kidnapping and murder of a minor girl was killed in an encounter after he tried to escape by attacking police personnel with a concealed knife. Two policemen sustained injuries in the attack,” Mr. Vatsa on Monday (July 20, 2026).
According to the police, the victim, the daughter of migrant labourers, was sleeping with her parents on a platform at Vasad railway station when she was abducted at around 9.15 p.m. on Saturday (July 18, 2026). Her body was found on the railway tracks early on Sunday.
CCTV footage from the railway station allegedly showed Parmar taking the child away, prompting a search operation involving the Railway Police, Anand district police, the Local Crime Branch (LCB), the Special Operations Group and Vasad police.
Parmar, a resident of Borsad town in Anand district, was arrested by the Borsad Rural Police late on Sunday (July 19, 2026) and handed over to the LCB for further investigation.
Police said that while the LCB team was bringing him to Anand town on Sunday (July 19, 2026) night, Parmar asked the escorting officers to stop the vehicle, claiming he needed to vomit. Once the vehicle halted, he allegedly pulled out a concealed knife and attacked two policemen in an attempt to escape.
The police said a sub-inspector repeatedly warned Parmar to surrender, but he continued the assault, forcing the officer to open fire in self-defence.
Parmar sustained a bullet injury and was taken to a hospital in Karamsad, where he died during treatment in the early hours of Monday. The two injured policemen are undergoing treatment, police said.
Published – July 20, 2026 11:37 pm IST
