A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped and strangled to death in Tonk district of Rajasthan, the Hindustan Times reported on Monday. The child had gone missing on Saturday, and her body was found the next day in Aligarh town.
“The victim is of Class 1 in a government institution,” Aligarh Station House Officer Ram Krishan stated. “On Saturday, she was in class till 3 pm as there was a cultural celebration. After that, she didn’t reach her house. Her parents explored for her but they were helpless to find her.”
Preliminary investigation suggested that the girl was raped and then strangled to death with the school belt that she was wearing, Krishan added. Some locals found her body among bushes in a remote area in Aligarh and then informed the police.
The police alleged that the girl’s family did not report her missing on Saturday. “The girl used to live with her four matrilineal uncles,” Tonk Additional Superintendent of Police Vipin Sharma said. “All of them lived in nearby houses. Family members told us that they thought that she would be in a nearby house and must be sleeping there, that’s why they didn’t lodge any missing person report.”
The police have filed an FIR against unknown persons under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Indian Penal Code but have not yet made any arrests.
The incident comes amid increasing calls for better rules and policing to ensure the safety of women.
Last week, a veterinary surgeon was murdered after allegedly being raped near Hyderabad. Her charred body was found on Thursday, triggering protests. A 25-year-old law student was abducting and raped in Ranchi earlier last week, and in Delhi, a 55-year-old woman was allegedly raped and strangled in the Gulabi Bagh area on Saturday.
