TURA, Dec 24 - In a rib-curling case of murder and rape, the body of an 8-year-old girl was found by a woman near a garden when she went to collect firewood. The girl had gone missing since Friday last.
The minor girl had gone missing since about 8 am on Friday, from near her house in Rangapani under Mankachar Police Station in Assam and the discovery of the girl�s body from near Belbari in South West Garo Hills(SWGH), two days ago has sent shockwaves across the two States. The incident of murder was immediately reported by the woman to Monabari police outpost in SWGH after the discovery on Tuesday.
The body of the young girl showed tremendous signs of violence with even the eyes being gouged out by the still unidentified rapists.
Worried parents of the girl filed a missing complaint at Mankachar PS last week after the girl failed to come home, after which police swung into action.
�The act seems to have been perpetrated by depraved minds. The kind of injuries inflicted on the 8-year-old is inhumane and absolutely shameful. She had multiple injuries on her body and we suspect rape too�, said SP of SWGH, Aditya Goenka.
Police in Assam suspect the act to have been perpetrated by locals from Assam. �She was kidnapped from the garden where she had gone to collect firewood and taken to Meghalaya where we believe she was raped and later beaten up brutally and killed�, said the source.
The body of the girl was sent to Tura Civil Hospital for post mortem yesterday, though preliminary investigations have already pointed at rape. However there is no clarity on whether more than one person was involved in the crime.