Ghaziabad, Oct 08: A six-year-old girl, who had gone missing outside her house in Muradnagar on Saturday, was found raped and murdered on Sunday.

Her body was spotted on the roof of a mosque in her locality falling under the jurisdiction of the Muradnagar police station on Sunday morning. The police confirmed that she had been raped after they received the results of the autopsy.

The class 2 student had gone missing around 12.45pm on Saturday. Her family said that they had complained to the police the same day, who then lodged an FIR for kidnapping against unidentified persons on Saturday night. However, after the discovery of the body, which bore injury marks on the face and legs, her family has alleged the involvement of their neighbours, including the local councillor.

“The autopsy report confirmed that there was sexual assault and she died of strangulation,” Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said.

He added that the case will now be converted under the Indian Penal Code’s sections of murder and rape, and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act will also be levied.

The girl was to turn seven in December and was the second of her four siblings. Her father runs a private school in Muradnagar.

“My daughter and my younger son had gone to a local market to buy fruit juice on Saturday afternoon. While my son returned home, my daughter did not. In the footage from the CCTV camera installed in the colony, she is seen walking away from the house but the camera could not capture any more of her movements. We searched for her everywhere, including in the mosque, until 3am on Sunday. But she could not be traced. In the meantime, we also complained to the police,” the girl’s father said.

He said her body was spotted by people offering namaz at the mosque around 5.45am on Sunday.

“We were offering namaz and heard some monkeys jumping on the roof. Some people went upstairs to drive them away and one of them spotted her legs sticking out. He called others. I also ran upstairs and found that it was my daughter. We have long-standing enmity with our neighbours and suspect their involvement. We have told the police about that as well,” he said.

The houses of the girl and the suspects are close to the mosque.

Considering the gravity of the incident, the police deployed personnel at the mosque as well as the locality. The officials said that barring women and an ailing patient, persons from the suspected family were not found at their home.

The girl’s father said that during the 2012 local body elections, his cousin had contested against the suspects but lost.

“Since my cousin was contesting, I accompanied him for canvassing. My neighbours tried to pressurise me against doing that, but I continued to support him. Three months ago, they severely beat up my cousin and we lodged a police complaint. Thereafter, elders from the locality asked us to reach a compromise,” he added.

He added that during the local body elections in 2018, his neighbours called him over to their house several times, but he refused to go.

“Everyone from the locality went to their house, but I did not go despite several calls. They were offended and that is why they nursed a grudge against me,” he added.

The police have formed teams and trying to trace the suspects.

“The family has alleged that their neighbours are involved in the murder. The suspects, including the councillor, are on the run. We are investigating the case in detail and are probing all angles. Teams have been formed to trace the suspects, so we can question them,” SSP Krishna added.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

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Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.

The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."

The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.

Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.

According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.

It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.

If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.

In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.

It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.

The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.

It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.

“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.