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Updated: Jun 07, 2019 19:54 IST

As outrage escalated over the killing of a toddler whose mutilated body was found in a garbage dump here, the Uttar Pradesh police on Friday suspended five of their men for negligence.

The policemen were suspended for alleged delay in registering the case after the girl was reported missing, and also for delaying the probe which eventually led to the discovery of her body on June 2, officials said.

The two-and-a-half-year-old had gone missing from Tappal township on May 30. Her body was found three days later in a garbage dump near her house.

The post-mortem examination confirmed death due to strangulation. It has not found any sign of sexual assault but this cannot be ruled out at this stage.

The murder over the repayment of a Rs 10,000-loan triggered a massive outrage on social media, with political leaders and celebrities tweeting their disgust and anger over the brutality of the crime. Some children also took out a candle-light march in Aligarh.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the district administration.

Replying to questions from reporters in Lucknow, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said, “The case will be fast-tracked. POCSO will also be included in the FIR. As of now sexual assault is not ruled out.” He said vaginal swabs have been sent for forensic examination.

Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police Akash Kulhari too said vaginal swab and slides have been sent to a forensic science laboratory.

The SSP said a decision on adding the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act will be taken after the report comes.

ADG Kumar said the body was sent for postmortem examination more than 72 hours after the death. “Entry of maggots have been found.” Tappal police station officials registered the case on May 31, a day after she had gone missing. Two suspects have been arrested and police say the case is a fallout of a monetary dispute.

The accused — Zahid and Aslam — have confessed to killing the girl after her father failed to return Rs 10,000 he had borrowed from them, police said in a statement.

Asked about the suspension of police officials, SSP Kulhari told PTI that it was done on the basis of the inquiry conducted by circle officer Pankaj Srivastva.

The girl’s father, Banwarilal Sharma, had threatened to go on fast unto death, demanding the arrest of family members of the accused who, he said, “colluded” in the crime. The SSP met him and persuaded him against sitting on fast.

The SSP said he has assured Sharma that justice would be done in the case and the accused would be tried in a fast- track court.

A neighbour said the girl was playing outside her home with other children on May 30 before she disappeared.

Her uncle said police did not take action when they reported that the child has gone missing.

“A sweeper alerted us that the body was lying in a garbage dump,” he told reporters, adding it was found 200 metres from their home.

SSP Kulhari said proceedings have begun to charge the duo under the National Security Act.

A six-member SIT has been formed to investigate the case and a female inspector had been appointed to carry forward the probe, he said.

The minor’s killing took a political colour with Congress president Rahul Gandhi expressing shock over the incident and wondering how any human being can treat a child so brutally.

“The horrific murder of a little girl in Aligarh, UP has shocked and disturbed me. How can any human being treat a child with such brutality? This terrible crime must not go unpunished. The UP police must act swiftly to bring the killers to justice,” he said on Twitter.

His sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too condemned the inhuman act.

“The brutal murder in Aligarh is yet another inhuman, unspeakable crime against an innocent child. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain her parents must feel. What has become of us,” she asked.

BSP supremo Mayawati described the brutal killing as “highly shameful and sad incident”.

“The Uttar Pradesh government should take strict action immediately to establish the rule of law in the state and put the guilty behind the bars,” she said in a statement in Lucknow.

Celebrities too expressed their shock and disgust.

Actor Akshay Kumar said he was “horrified, upset and angry”.

“This is definitely not the kind of world we want for our children. We need immediate and strictest punishment for such a heinous crime,” he said on Twitter.

“How can somebody even think of doing such a thing?!?! Speechless.,” Abhishek Bachchan said on the social media.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said in New Delhi it has sought a report from the SSP. NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo spoke to SSP Kulhari and asked him to take necessary action.

Security measures at Tappal township, 50 km from the district headquarters, have been tightened as a precautionary step after tension mounted in the area. The SSP had visited the area and urged residents to maintain public order, so that police can probe the case.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)