Bhopal: Missing girl’s body found in water tank; police suspect rape-murder, black magic

The body of a five-year-old girl was found in the water tank of a locked apartment at a multi-storeyed building in Bhopal on Thursday.

The girl had been missing for two days, and an extensive search had been conducted by dozens of police officials, reported PTI.

After the body of the girl was found, angry locals blocked roads and gheraoed the Shahjahanabad police station demanding the death penalty for the killers and questioning why it took three days for the police to find the body. Police have picked up two persons in connection with the incident, reported PTI quoting sources.

At least 100 policemen, as well as drones and divers (for search in nearby water bodies and drains) had been roped in to trace the girl, who went missing on Tuesday noon from the building where her family resided, police said.

The body was found in a water tank which was placed directly above a locked flat. Locals questioned why police questioned hundreds of people inside the apartment building but didn’t open the locked flat despite neighbours complaining of a strong odour from the apartment.

The girl’s family members along with locals staged a road blockade, claiming they had asked police to get the locked flat opened after filing the missing complaint but the police did not pay heed to their demand.

The protesters cleared the road after some time but continued their sit-in agitation outside the police station, seeking the death penalty for the killers.

The police searched over 1,000 flats in the area in connection with the case, which included the inspection of washing machines, before they opened the locked flat, reported NDTV.

The body of the girl has been sent to the hospital for a medical examination, but the police suspect that the girl was sexually assaulted and murdered, reported NDTV. The police are also probing a black magic angle in the 5-year-old girl’s death.