Srinagar, Mar 30 (KNS): The gruesome murder of an 8-year-old girl in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district has left her family members and people shell-shocked even as police say the accused would soon be behind the bars.
Local villagers told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that the girl had told her parents that she would go out to play at around 6:40 pm, but she did not return till 8 pm, making her family restless.
They said her mother searched for her everywhere in the surrounding villages and also went to the relatives’ homes but could not find her.
“Her father, who is an ambulance driver, also couldn't locate her. Eventually, they decided to approach the police for help. Around 9 pm, the girl's mother went inside a shed that is used to store wood, where she saw her body lying in a pool of blood, her throat slit and a cement sack on her face,” they said.
The villagers said the shed was only 10 meters away from her house and when her mother found the found, she screamed in fear.
"Her uncle and other neighbours rushed there but found that her throat was slit and advised her mother to wait for police to come. Her Hijab had been taken off and the Rs 5, her father had given her to buy snacks, were still tightly gripped in her hand. Blood from her wound had already dried," they said.
Later, police arrived at the crime scene and took the body into their possession, while everyone in the neighbourhood is clueless about the gruesome murder.
Senior Superintendent of Police Kupwara, Yougal Manhas said that they are investigating the matter and the accused will soon bee behind the bars.
He also urged the locals to cooperate with them in the investigation and share any input they might have.
The murder has sent shockwaves across the village. Her family members including parents are inconsolable, while locals demand strict action against the perpetrators of this heinous crime.(KNS)