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Updated: Jun 10, 2019 00:03 IST

The naked body of a seven-year-old girl was found in Uttar Pradesh’s Jalaun on Sunday, fuelling suspicion that she might have been raped before being murdered, police officials familiar with the matter said.

Jalaun superintendent of police (SP) Swami Prasad said a case of murder has been registered and the girl’s father has named two of his neighbours, with whom he had personal enmity, in the complaint. He added that the girl’s body has been sent for a post-mortem examination.

“ We are waiting for the autopsy report. We will add additional charges if it is established that the girl was sexually assaulted,” a police official said on the condition of anonymity.

According to the first information report (FIR), the girl had gone to play on Friday evening but did not return home. Early on Saturday morning (Please see if it’s Saturday or Sunday) villagers spotted the child’s body and informed her father. Police said the victim’s family did not file a complaint when the girl went missing.

The incident is the latest in a series of crimes against children in Uttar Pradesh. On June 2, the mutilated body of a two-year-old girl was found in a drain in Aligarh, leading to widespread outrage. Four people have been arrested in the case and a magisterial probe is underway.

On Saturday, a 10-year-old girl’s body was found in Hamirpur, with her family alleging that she was raped and then murdered. Police have filed a case against unidentified persons under the Indian Penal Code’s (IPC) sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.