Body of missing nine-year-old girl found in pond

Police waiting for autopsy report to confirm she was raped

HYDERABAD: A nine-year-old girl was killed and dumped in a sewage pond after allegedly being raped in Larkana district. The body of S*, daughter of a labourer, who went missing on Tuesday, was found in the pond near Tayyab Hotel along Dodai Road on Wednesday morning.

The father told the media that his daughter left their home in the Ayub Colony area Tuesday night to buy a confectionery item but she did not return. "We searched for her in the neighbourhood and at the houses of relatives and neighbours for hours but could not find a trace of her."



Later, a complaint of the missing child was registered with the Haideri police station. The father blamed the police for delaying the search for his child. "She might have been alive today if the police had immediately begun the search."

SHO Aslam Pervez Abro said the police were informed about the body by a passer-by. "There were marks of torture on her face. We are awaiting the medical report to establish rape," he added. SHO Abro informed the local media that so far the police were clueless about the culprit and they were using sniffer dogs to trace the perpetrator.



The body was moved to Chandka Medical Hospital where the family complained that the postmortem took around six hours as the doctor concerned was not available.

The incident's FIR has yet to be lodged. Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal took notice of the incident, seeking a report from the Larkana SSP. He directed the SSP to promptly collect evidence and record accounts of the family and witnesses.

* Name withheld to protect identity