Cops find body of 5-year-old girl raped, murdered during Diwali

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The Kongaon police on Tuesday found the body of a five-year-old girl, who had gone missing on Monday night while lighting firecrackers. Police said the girl had been raped before she was murdered, according to a Times of India report.

According to the police, the girl, who was a Class 1 student, went missing around 8.30pm when she was lighting fire crackers outside the residence. Police said her parents looked for her in the area, but when they could not find her, they filed a complaint with the police.

The report said the police initially registered a case of kidnapping against unidentified persons, as the girl was a minor, but on Tuesday, a passer-by noticed a body near a pipeline and informed the police. He identified the body as the girl who had gone missing.

"After recovery of the body, we sent it to JJ hospital in Mumbai for a post-mortem," Rajkumar Shinde, deputy commissioner of police (Bhiwandi region) said.

Senior inspector Ramesh Katkar was quoted in the report saying that they have registered a case of murder and rape and added sections related to POCSO against unidentified accused.

He said, "Seven teams including one from the crime branch have been formed to search for the accused and very soon, we will nab the culprit."

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