KANPUR: The naked body of a 13-year-old girl with broken limbs and multiple wounds was found near the railway track in Farrukhabad district on Sunday.

The deceased, a student of class VIII, was staying with her parents and other siblings in the Ariyara village in Kayamganj area of Farrukhabad .

Eyewitnesses said the mutilated naked corpse indicated that she had been raped and murdered. Her body was placed on the railway track near Lallaiya village by the perpetrators purportedly to get rid of the evidence.

There were several injury marks on the girl's chest, arms, back, stomach and leg.

Police, however, declined to comment on whether this was a case of rape or sexual assault before the postmortem.

The girl had gone outside to relieve herself late in the evening hours of Saturday and did not return. Family members along with neighbours searched for her but in vain.

The locals apprised the girl's parents on Sunday morning that the body of their daughter was lying on the railway track near a school close to Lallaiya village.

Kotwali police personnel rushed to the spot and found that the nude body of the girl was lying near the railway track. Her clothes were found at the distance of about 100m from the place where her body was lying.

Police made inquiries with the locals of the area and her parents. It was said that the girl was reportedly followed by village youths a few days back. Then, she went missing since late Saturday evening.

"There is a strong possibility of the crime having taken place somewhere else and the victim's body being dumped on the railway track by assailants purportedly to get rid of evidence. We've registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and started investigation," a police official from Kotwali police station said.

"Her father told us that she had left the house between 5 and 6 pm on Saturday, for nearby fields. He alleged the role of five village youths in the entire incident," Superintendent of Police, RP Pandey said.

He said the body had been sent to the district hospital for postmortem examination. "A special police team has been formed and further investigations are underway to crack the case, the investigating cops have picked up few suspects, from the village for interrogation," he added.