6-year-old murdered in Telangana, kin allege rape: Police

According to the police, the minor girl went missing on Thursday and after her family lodged a police complaint, her body was found in her neighbour’s house on Friday morning. Rape was suspected in the incident as per preliminary information, but a medical examination would bring out the facts, police said.

A 6-year-old girl was found murdered at her neighbour’s house in Saidabad on Friday, triggering protests by local residents, police said, suspecting the minor was sexually assaulted.

Police said a case was registered following a complaint made by the girl’s father and investigation was in progress. (File photo. Representative image)

According to the police, the minor girl went missing on Thursday and after her family lodged a police complaint, her body was found in her neighbour’s house on Friday morning. Rape was suspected in the incident as per preliminary information, but a medical examination would bring out the facts, police said.

A senior Hyderabad police officer from the east zone said more details about the assault could only be ascertained after the post-mortem, as the victim’s body had several injury marks

A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said the girl’s neighbour, who is the prime suspect in the case, was absconding. “The accused is a daily wager and will be taken into custody soon,” the officer added.

Police said a case was registered following a complaint made by the girl’s father and investigation was in progress.

Soon after the incident came to light, local residents held a protest demanding strict action against the accused. Locals also obstructed police officers and demanded monetary compensation for the girl’s family from the Telangana government. Police deployed additional personnel in the area after some local media claimed that crowd pelted stones at the house of the accused.

Meanwhile, state women and child welfare minister Satyavati Rathod, who expressed anguish over the incident, urged city police commissioner Anjani Kumar and women and child welfare commissioner Divya Devarajan to take steps to bring the culprit to book and to ensure tough punishment, an official release said.

The parents of the girl be provided with financial assistance of ₹50,000, the minister said.

Observing that the Telangana government under the leadership of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has initiated several measures for women’s safety, the minister directed officials to be tough in dealing with such incidents.

Appealing to the residents of the locality to observe restraint, she said the government would stand by the family of the deceased girl and take steps to hand out stringent punishment to the culprits, the release added.

(With agency inputs)