In yet another incident of crime against a minor, the body of an 8-year-old girl was found in a drain close to her house at Kamla Nagar here in wee hours of Sunday.
Police said prima facie it appears that the girl was raped and murdered. However, a firm conclusion would be drawn only after the report of the postmortem, they said.
Meanwhile, a policeman was suspended for dereliction of duty in connection with the case.
The girl went missing last evening after she had gone out of her house to buy something. When she did not return, her parents approached the police following which a case was registered and a search for the missing child started.
The body was recovered from the drain after someone cited it and informed the police.
"She went out at about 8.30 in the evening and did not return. Her parents approached us and we started searching for the child. The child's body was found at 5 am today in the drain," said ASP, Akhil Patel.
"A police personnel has been suspended for laxity. Prima facie it appears that something wrong happened with the girl but this could be established only after the post-mortem report," IG, Yogesh Deshmukh told on phone.
( With inputs from ANI )