india

Updated: Mar 13, 2020 05:49 IST

With the postmortem report showing over two dozen injury marks on the body and intestines completely ruptured, the family of the nine-year-old girl, who was raped and murdered in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao district on Tuesday, refused to cremate the body unless those behind the crime were arrested.

Police are suspecting the involvement of people from the village or nearby areas. “We are pinning hopes on the DNA test of the suspects,” according to a police official.

Police said doctors in Kanpur, where she died while undergoing treatment, found hair strands and skin fragments in the victim’s nails during autopsy. “Believing they could be of the rapist, we have sent them for DNA test,” a police official said.

Doctors said the cause of death was strangulation and bleeding.

Additional director general of police (ADG) Lucknow zone SN Sabat said, “We are depending on the scientific collection of evidence that we think can help in solving this case.”

The victim was found on the roadside near Shuklakhera village in Unnao on Tuesday noon in a critical condition. She was first taken to the Patan community health centre, and later shifted to LLR hospital, where she died.

The girl was last seen in the village where her family was busy taking part in Holi celebrations.

Vikrant Veer, superintendents of police, Unnao , met the grandfather and maternal uncle of the victim and urged them to cremate the body.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked Unnao police to ensure the arrest of the accused.