A partial skeleton of a six-year-old Dalit girl was found on 28 February from a secluded field of her village in the Sajati police station area of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Prima facie, it looks like the girl might have been sexually assaulted before being murdered, an official on the condition of anonymity said to PTI news agency.
Three suspects, including a man named Chandrabhan, his wife Sudha and brother Sultan were detained for interrogation.
Additional DCP (South) Ankita Sharma said that the girl went missing on Saturday after she left her house saying that she was going to her uncle’s place which was located in the same village.
After making a frantic search, the Dalit family approached police the same night and lodged an FIR against four people, including Chandrabhan, his wife Sudha, brother Sultan and father Ram Prakash, for kidnapping the minor, Sharma said to news agency.
Additional DCP (South) said the skeleton was found at a distance of around one-and-a-half kilometres from her house.
“We have decided to explore the rape angle during post-mortem examination apart from ascertaining the exact cause of death. We cannot rule out the possibility of the child being raped before being killed. But, it is too early to reach a conclusion,” the police officer told.
