By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Even as the anger continued to simmer over the horrific gangrape-murder of Hyderabad veterinary doctor, two equally horrific incidents have jolted the state of Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours.

In the first case, a four-year-old girl was abducted, raped and strangulated to death in Mhow town of Indore district in the wee hours of Monday.

Sources in the Mhow police station said that the victim was sleeping near an overbridge when she was abducted. The parents noticed their child missing at dawn and reported the matter to the police. A subsequent search led to the girl being found dead and her body wrapped in a plastic sheet at an abandoned building near a hospital.

Doctors who conducted the autopsy concluded that the minor was raped before being strangulated. Multiple injuries have reportedly indicated that her head was banged repeatedly before the rape and murder.

“A case of abduction, rape and murder has been registered against the unidentified accused who is also booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012. Involvement of more than one person in the horrific crime cannot be ruled out,” Mhow (Indore) police station in-charge Abhay Nema told The New Indian Express.

The police are also examining the CCTV footage from the spot where the minor was kidnapped and the place where her body was found.

Shocked by the incident, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath tweeted on Tuesday, condemning the heinous crime. He directed the police to immediately track and arrest culprits and also directed local administration to render all possible support to the deceased minor’s family.

17-year-old stabbed to death in Jabalpur

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old Class 10 student was allegedly stabbed to death by her neighbour in Jabalpur town.

The accused identified as Shivkumar Choudhary, 23, inflicted more than 20 stab wounds on the girl. Choudhury, who runs a mobile phone shop, was the girl's immediate neighbour in Kudwari area under Gohalpur police station limits.

He was released on bail just a few weeks back after getting arrested for allegedly molesting the same girl in September. “The accused has already been charge-sheeted in the September molestation and POCSO Act case and will be tried in the murder case in a fast track court,” Jabalpur district police superintendent Amit Singh said.

The incident took place on Monday morning when the teenager was alone at home with her seven-year-old brother playing outside and parents away for work. Taking advantage of the situation, Choudhary barged into her home and bolted the door inside before stabbing her to death.

Hearing the girl scream, her brother and neighbours called the police who rushed to the spot and nabbed the killer just when he was trying to escape. The police have also seized a knife he used in the crime.

The doctors declared the girl dead on arrival at the hospital.