Tension gripped the Remuna area in Baleswar district on Monday after a missing seven-year-old girl was found dead with multiple injuries in her body, giving rise to suspicion that she was raped and murdered.
The girl belonged to a poor family of Hathiagand village. Her body was found near Patripal, about 200 metre from Hathiagand.
She had been missing since Sunday afternoon and remained untraced though an apparel of her was found later in the night from the bank of Sono river. On the demand of locals, a team of firefighters made a frantic search in the river on the suspicion that she might have drowned.
After the body was found, hundreds of villagers congregated near the body and embarked on an agitation alleging that the girl was raped and killed.
They blocked the village road by putting burning tyres and demanded compensation for the bereaved family and immediate arrest of culprit/ culprits. They withdrew the agitation at about 1 pm only after intervention of the local Tehsildar.
“The primary inquiry suggests that the victim was raped and then murdered. The body has been sent for postmortem. A case under various sections of the IPC for rape, murder and suppression of evidences has been registered. Rs20,000 has been given from the Red Cross fund and a recommendation has been sent for a grant of Rs30,000 from the Chief Minister Relief Fund,” said Remuna IIC Surendra Nayak.