Body of minor girl found in a temple pond near Alipur

Police did not find any injury marks on her body and her clothes were intact. However, they did not rule out the possibility of a sexual assault

The body of a six-year-old girl was found in a pond of a famous temple at Budhpur near Alipur on Monday morning, nearly 16 hours after she went there with a three-year-old girl, police officers aware of the matter said.

The victim went to Dada Budhe Baba temple with another minor girl living in their neighbourhood in Budhpur. (Representational image)

Police did not find any injury marks on her body and her clothes were intact. However, they did not rule out the possibility of a sexual assault. A medical board has been constituted to conduct an autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of death and whether she was sexually assaulted, they added.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Ravi Kumar Singh said that on Sunday evening, the girl’s 35-year-old mother came to the Alipur police station and said that she and her husband went out to work, leaving their daughter at home. Around 7pm, the girl’s father returned home and failed to find her. He asked his neighbours, who told him that she went to Dada Budhe Baba temple with another minor girl living in their neighbourhood in Budhpur.

“The younger girl returned home after some time, but the victim remained missing. After the matter was brought to the notice of police, a case of kidnapping was registered, and a search operation was launched to find the missing child,” said the DCP.

Around 10am on Monday, the search team found the girl’s body in the pond of Dada Budhe Ka Mandir, DCP Singh said.

Police are trying to find out how she reached the pond, and if she drowned accidentally, or somebody threw her into it.