Surat child rape case: Lab receives files 10 days later

In a case of sheer negligence, Surat police on Monday sent case files of the 11-year-old girl who was found dead with multiple injuries near Jiaav-Budiya road in Pandesara on April 6. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) department has yet to receive her samples, even after 10 days.

"At around 5.30pm on Monday, police deployment happened outside the FSL department in Surat and the case files of the girl were given to the biological department but the samples of the girl have yet not been received by the FSL," an official source told DNA.

However, Satish Sharma, Police Commissioner of Surat, told the newspaper that the case files were already sent to the FSL, though he did not mention the date, and when asked further, he said he did not remember the date.

The minor was found with 86 injury marks on her body. Police said prima facie it looked like a case of sexual assault. They said the girl was tortured for eight days before she was killed. The post-mortem report revealed that the girl had been strangled to death. Police has lodged an FIR under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 376 (rape) of the IPC and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against unidentified persons in the matter.

"It looks as though the girl was not from here and the culprits were also not from here," said Sharma. "During the investigation, there were no signs of a scuffle at the spot where she was found, so we think she was brought there and dumped."

Investigators have yet to find a lead in the case as there were no CCTV cameras installed in the area where the body was found. The police is looking at all the vehicles that passed through the area during the time. Surat police has also approached the Ahmedabad Crime Branch for help in the case. Two Crime Branch teams will be assisting Surat Police to crack the case.

Nobody has come forward to claim the minor's body yet. The police is looking at missing children reports to ascertain the girl's identity. They have already checked reports from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. There are speculations that the child could be from Bengal or Odisha or Madhya Pradesh or Jharkhand as the area where the body was found has a large population from those states.

The police has collected her DNA samples to help them identify her. They have also announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for information regarding the case. A citizen, who is a builder, has also offered to pay Rs 5 lakh to whoever can provide leads in the matter. The police has promised to make sure that the identity of the informer is not revealed.

Case filed for spreading rumours about ABVP involvement

A case was registered against three people by the local police for allegedly spreading rumours about involvement of ABVP member Hitesh Thakur in the rape of the 11-year-old girl. The police said the rumours were being spread on social media and the case was filed as the matter is extremely sensitive. The police said the people behind the rumours were trying to create a communal divide. The case was filed against Irfan Anjum, Asmita das, Mohammad Alam. They had allegedly shared on Twitter a photo of the girl as she was found saying that an ABVP man had raped her.