Body of missing Chhattisgarh girl found in Rajasthan’s Kota

The body of a 17-year-old girl from Chhattisgarh, who had gone missing on Monday, was found in the forests of Jawahar Sagar Dam in Rajasthan’s Kota late on Wednesday night, police said.

The body of a 17-year-old girl from Chhattisgarh, who had gone missing on Monday, was found in the forests of Jawahar Sagar Dam in Rajasthan’s Kota late on Wednesday night, police said.

(Representational)

The Class XII student, a resident of Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh, had joined a coaching institute in Kota to prepare for the pre-medical entrance test, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), police said on Thursday.

The minor girl, who had been living in a hostel for the last one-and-a-half months, left for coaching on Monday morning but did not return till late in the evening after which a missing report was lodged at the Jawahar Nagar police station, said station house officer Ram Singh.

“The body was fully clothed and prima facie it seems she was attacked on her head with a stone,” Singh said, adding that the body has been sent for the postmortem examination.

“The cause of death will be ascertained only after the postmortem report comes,” he added.

CCTV footage from near her coaching institute showed that the minor girl left with a youngster on a two-wheeler, said a senior police officer.

The initial probe revealed that the girl befriended a Gujarat-based youngster, in his 20s, through social media. The man reached Kota on Saturday and the two reportedly moved towards Kota Dam on Monday, said the officer.

Police teams have been sent to Gujarat to nab the man, the SHO said, adding that the motive behind the crime would be ascertained after the suspect is arrested and interrogated.

Meanwhile, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 363 (kidnapping) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered, said the officer.