10-yr-old girl’s murder: Post-mortem report suggests no sexual assault

The victim,identified as Pinki,was reported to have been missing since November 27.

A “police informant” called Gurmeet Kaur claimed to have received information about the whereabouts of Pinki from some unidentified women before Pinki was found murdered. The unidentified women had allegedly asked for Rs 1 lakh to provide the information,Kaur said.

The victim’s family accused the Chandigarh Police of inaction as it failed to identify the accused even after the family told the police about the claims made by Kaur.

Talking to Newsline,Gudda Devi,mother of the deceased,said,“Yesterday,a woman called Gurmeet Kaur visited my house. She told me that a few unidentified women claimed to have information about the whereabouts of my daughter. However,they were asking for Rs 1 lakh to provide the information.”

Kaur,who claimed to have provided information to the Chandigarh Police on several occasions,said,“I overheard a few unidentified women talking among themselves,claiming to have information about Pinki. When I asked,they demanded Rs 1 lakh to provide the information. I told the mother of the deceased about the claims made by the unidentified women.”

Devi said that she gave a written complaint to the Chandigarh Police about the matter,but they failed to take action. A few hours later,Pinki was found dead.

DSP (South) Surjit Singh Malik said,“We received a complaint by the family. We are looking into this angle too.”

A student of class VI at a government school in Sector 54,Pinki was reported to have gone missing on November 27 after she did not return home till late evening. At 4.30 pm,Pinki had left her house to visit a friend’s residence near by. However,when Pinki did not return home within a few hours,her family informed the police at 8.30 pm. “I visited the residence of Pinki’s friend. Over there,I learnt that Pinki had left after she did not find her friend,who was not present in the house at that moment,” Devi said.

Later,the Chandigarh Police found Pinki’s body in a jute sack near the forest area in Sector 52. A plastic rope was found tied around the girl’s neck suggesting that she was strangled. Pinki’s father Ram Verma is a vegetable vendor at Palsora village. A case of murder was registered.