LARKANA: The body of a nine-year-old girl, who went missing a day ago, was found floating in a pond near a hotel on the Larkana-Naudero road on Wednesday.

The police surgeon suspected attempted rape before the girl’s murder but the SSP insisted the victim had died from asphyxia.

The victim’s father told journalists at the casualty department of the Chandka Medical College Hospital, where he brought his daughter’s body, that he had informed Haidri police station about her disappearance after he and his relatives failed to find her in Ayub Colony where they lived.

She had gone out to buy some things but did not return, he said.

SHO Pervaiz Abro said that police, along with family members, tried to locate her but did not see any sign of her. Early on Wednesday police and parents were informed about the girl’s body floating in the pond, he said.

SSP Tanveer Hussain Tunio arrived at the hospital and assured the bereaved family of strict action against the culprits. He later visited the crime scene.

Police surgeon Dr Saleem Shaikh said that it could be said at the preliminary stage that the girl’s death was caused by asphyxia and most probably hands were used to block her breathing through nose and mouth. An attempt was made to rape her, he said.

“We are looking into the evidence to ascertain whether the body was thrown into the pond before or after suffocating her to death,” he said.

Sources said that police tried to track down the killer with the help of sniffer dogs and raided a house near the crime scene but found it empty. Its inmates had most probably fled before the police’s raid, said the sources.

The SSP said that police had received the victim’s post-mortem report which gave asphyxia as the cause of death. There was no sign of rape according to the report, he said.

Police teams were busy collecting CCTV footage of nearby areas and a team of forensic experts took fingerprints at the crime scene. They also took into custody the victim’s footwear for analysis, said the SSP.

He said that an FIR had been lodged and six suspects had been detained for interrogation. The culprits would be arrested soon, he said.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2018