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AGRA: A seven-year-old girl, who went missing since Monday, was found murdered under suspicious circumstances in a remote area of Kasganj district on Tuesday morning. Police suspect that there may have been an attempt to rape and the victim’s body has been sent for autopsy. The police told TOI on Wednesday that they are yet to arrest the suspected teenager.

Resident of Bhitauni village of Kasganj Kotwali police limits, the minor girl left home at 1:30 pm on Monday to attend tuition classes but did not reach her destination. Her tutor called girl’s parents asking about her whereabouts, after which her relatives started looking for her. Around 6 pm, the local police were informed about the missing girl. Six police teams - led by CO city Indra Prakash Singh and SHO Dinesh Kumar Dubey – then started a search operation, but failed to locate the girl.

The minor girl’s neighbour complained of pungent smell from the victim’s distant relative’s home and informed the police on Tuesday morning. The local cops then conducted a raid and found the girl’s decomposed body. Police have arrested a septuagenarian woman - the minor girl’s distant grandmother.

CO city Indra Prakash Singh told TOI, “The woman was trying to stop the police from entering her house to look for the minor girl, who was found dead. As of now, she has not revealed much, but claimed that her 17-year-old nephew murdered the girl.”

“Our team is searching for the accused teenager who is missing since the girl’s death. Rape bid cannot be ruled out as the girl’s family had no enmity with the accused. A doctors’ panel is conducting autopsy of the victim. A detailed interrogation of accused after his arrest will clear the mystery behind the girl’s murder. Based on the father of the victim’s written complaint, an FIR has been lodged against two persons, and they have been booked under IPC section 302 (murder),” added officer Singh.

The Class II student was eldest among two siblings. After the murder, a sense of tension and fear prevailed in the village with a large concentration of minority population.

