SRINAGAR: An eight-year-old girl, who was missing since last week, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Body of 8-year-old Asifa Bano, who was missing since January 10, was recovered from a forest area of Rasana Village in Hira Nagar area of Kathua district yesterday.
Asifa belongs to nomadic Bakerwal community.
A police official said post mortem of the body was conducted to know the exact reason of girl’s death.
He said Police station Hira Nagar has registered FIR No 10/2018 and launched investigations.
SSP Kathua Mohammad Suleman Choudhary told New Indian Express that there were injury marks on her face.
“The medical report will clear what kind of injury marks were on her face,” he said.
He said police has formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of the minor girl. “DySP will be heading the SIT”.
He said police is rounding up some suspects.
Asked whether the minor was also sexually assaulted, SSP said, “Nothing can be said at this point of time. The medical report will clear whether the girl has been sexually assaulted or not”.
He said police has registered an FIR about her missing on January 12 and since then had launched a manhunt to track her down.
“However, the police failed to locate her and yesterday morning her body was recovered about one and a half kilometers from her residence,” the SSP said.
When asked whether girl’s family was suspecting anybody for her abduction and murder, he said, “They have not pinpointed finger towards anybody. However, our probe is on”.
The opposition members today raised the issue in Legislative Assembly, which is in session in Jammu.
As the proceedings of the House began this morning, NC and Congress legislators protested against the murder of Asifa and alleged that police did not make any efforts to trace the girl after she was abducted last week.
Senior National Conference leader and MLA Kangan, Mian Altaf slammed government for not doing enough to save the minor girls.
“The government should tell the house what they were doing for eight days after she was abducted,” he said.
The opposition members demanded action against the police officers for not doing their duty properly and tracing her and later staged walk-out.
J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed her anguish over the murder of eight-year-old girl.
“Outraged by the heinous incident in which a young Bakerwal girl has lost her life. Incidents like this will be investigated expeditiously and the guilty will be punished," Mehbooba tweeted.
The family members and relatives of the girl have demanded swift and thorough investigation into the case and arrest of the culprits and severe punishment to them.