KARACHI, Dec 14: An eight-year-old girl was found dead on a vacant plot opposite the Shaikh Zayed Islamic Centre of Karachi University on Wednesday, police said.

There were marks of strangulation around her neck and torture on other parts of the body, the police said, suspecting that the child had been subjected to rape.

Someone in the neighbourhood informed the police helpline about the presence of the body in Block 2, said a duty officer at the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station.

He said the body was finally spotted at around 1pm and was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination.

It appeared that the girl had been strangled as she had contusion marks around her neck, he said. Also, he said, she was subjected to a sexual assault.

Hospital sources confirmed to Dawn that the girl had been raped. The post-mortem examination report was reserved.

An FIR of the incident was yet to be registered at the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station. “We are waiting for the identification of the victim and her family to lodge a case,” said the duty officer.