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Murdered Panchkula girl’s father found dead in Mohali
10-year-old girl was found dead near Bander Ghati in Panchkula on Sunday; Father suspected to have died by suicide
A day after a 10-year-old girl was found murdered near Bander Ghati in Panchkula, her father – the main suspect in the crime – was found dead at a railway track in Zirakpur on Monday.
The child, Agrima, a student of Class 4, was last seen leaving with her father, Bhupinder Bhandari, 40, in their car on July 17.
On Monday, the driver of a Shatabi Express discovered his body after it was dragged for several metres by the train.
A bag with an Aadhaar card was found near the body that helped the Zirakpur police identify Bhandari, following which the Panchkula police were alerted.
“We have confirmed that the deceased is Bhandari. We are suspecting that he died by suicide, but the Mohali police will carry out investigation in the case as the body was found in Ghazipur area of Zirakpur,” said Arvind Kamboj, SHO of the Chandimandir police station.
Mohali police have initiated inquest proceedings in the matter.
Meanwhile, police sources said the post-mortem report of the child had revealed strangulation as the cause of death. The family originally hailed from Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Bhandari used to run coaching classes in Panchkula. The victim’s mother is a clerk with a Haryana power body.
