The autopsy report of the seven-year-old girl who died of burn injuries under mysterious circumstances in Anwarpur area, Pilkhuwa town, Ghaziabad district, does not suggest sexual assault. This was revealed by the local police chief on Sunday.
However, doctors at Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, where the autopsy was conducted said that the report had not yet been compiled and that it was too early to say anything.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raghubir Lal said the autopsy was conducted on Sunday morning and the victim's body was handed over to her parents.
"Although the post-mortem report is yet to be prepared, we have come to know that rape was ruled out as the victim's private parts had no injuries and that the death was due to burn injuries," the SSP said.
Hospital authorities said the minor girl was brought in dead. "We conducted the autopsy on Sunday morning but a final report will be compiled by Monday. Her medico-legal report suggests 80% burns as the cause of her death but then it is too early to conclude anything. We should wait for the final report," said Dr Rajpal, medical superintendent, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in east Delhi.
On Saturday, the local police had reported that the girl had set herself on fire at her house after being rebuked by her uncle, Ravindra Kumar, for throwing a stone at her nine-year-old cousin Debu.
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday, the local police had reported that the girl had set herself on fire at her house after being rebuked by her uncle, Ravindra Kumar, for throwing a stone at her nine-year-old cousin Debu.
{{/usCountry}}Police claimed after investigation that they found that the girl committed suicide by pouring kerosene on herself from an oil lamp.
Her neighbours Suraj Pal, Kaushal and Pramod Kumar rushed her to the nearby Saraswati Medical College (SMC) on NH-24, from where she was referred to GTB hospital where she succumbed to her burn injuries around 5pm on Saturday.
Ravindra Kumar was picked up by police for questioning on Saturday. "Her uncle was detained for questioning. He didn't say anything about murder or sexual assault. He, however, admitted to having slapped her for throwing a stone at his son," the SSP added.
The minor's body was cremated on Sunday. Her father Manoj Kumar, who works as a medical assistant at SMC, had not registered a complaint with the police till late Sunday evening.
The victim's father said he would lodge a complaint only after looking at the autopsy report. "Since we both (victim's parents) were not at home when it happened, I cannot confirm any sexual assault. I will file the FIR only after we get the autopsy report. There could be 50-50% chance of suicide or a murder," Kumar said.