Body of 7-year-old missing girl found in box floating in canal

The body of a seven-year-old girl, who was missing since June 21, was today found in a box floating in a canal in north-east Delhi's Bhajanpura, the police said.

There were no external injury marks on the body, they said, adding that an autopsy would reveal if the girl was sexually assaulted before being killed.

The girl lived with her family in New Usmanpur. On June 21, at around 10 am, she had left her house for her aunt's place nearby, along with her elder sisters. After spending some time there, the girl had left her aunt's house alone, the police said.

Her sisters returned home later and found the girl missing. Subsequently, the family members started looking for the her but as she was nowhere to be found, they lodged a police complaint.

This morning, the police were informed by a man about a leather box floating in the canal. The box was retrieved from the canal and the body was recovered from it.

The hands and legs of the girl were found tied and the body had decayed, the police said, adding that an initial probe pointed towards the involvement of a person who was possibly known to the girl's family.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)