Indian police have discovered the skeletal remains of two more children in a house near New Delhi, taking the toll in a series of child murders to 17, a senior police official said yesterday.
"We have so far recovered the remains of 17 children," police official R.K.S. Rathore said.
"But the search is still going on," he said.
As many as 40 children -- most aged between six and 12 -- had been reported missing in the area over the past two years, said another police officer who did not want to be identified.
The bodies were found in Noida, a satellite city of New Delhi and a hub for global software giants.
Two men, a businessman who deals in earth-moving equipment and who owns the property where the skeletons were found, and his "mentally ill" servant, have been arrested.
"We are questioning Mohinder Singh and Satish, who is Singh's servant," Rathore said.
Rathore earlier said that Satish, charged with multiple counts of rape, murder and concealment, appeared to be "mentally ill."
He had also confessed to police he had lured and killed six children with sweets and toys, Rathore said, while Satish's employer was also charged with multiple rape, murder and concealment charges.
The victims were mainly the children of laborers, and furious relatives have accused police of failing to act after the disappearances were reported.
Relatives of the missing children broke a police security cordon and stormed the house on Sunday.
A report in yesterdays Hindustan Times said they reported seeing blood stains in a bathroom and clothes, shoes and slippers of some of the missing children piled up in one of the rooms of the house.
Ten of the 17 victims so far discovered had been identified by grief-stricken parents, Rathore said.
Meanwhile, another two police officers were suspended for negligence in relation to the case.
While senior police officials claimed to have done everything possible to solve the disappearances, the Press Trust of India said two police constables were suspended late on Sunday for refusing to take action when they were informed about a number of missing children.
RSS