17-year-old missing girl found dead in UP's Bhadohi; police suspect rape-murder

A 17 year-old girl who had gone missing two days ago in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi was found dead with her face and upper portion of the body burnt with an acid to hide her identity, police said on Wednesday.

Police are suspecting that she was raped and murdered.

According to them, the incident allegedly took place at a village in the Dhaurhara area of the district. Her body was recovered from the Varuna River on Wednesday afternoon.

The girl had gone to graze cattle on Monday but went missing after which police were informed.

Her face and upper part of the body suffered serious burns caused by an acid, SP Ram Badan Singh said.

The state of the body suggests that she could have been raped and her face and upper part of the body burnt to hide her identity, the SP said, adding that the girl’s family identified her through her jeans.

Meanwhile, locals staged a protest on the Bhadohi-Jaunpur road demanding immediate arrest of the culprits and did not allow the police to take the body out of the river.

They were pacified and the process to send the body for an autopsy has been initiated, the SP said.

In the preliminary inquiry, it appears the girl was strangled and her face burnt to hide her identity, the SP said.

The father of the girl has suspected the role of a brick kiln owner and some others in the crime and police is looking for them.

Further details will be known only after the post-mortem examination, the SP added. 

READ | Uttar Pradesh: 13-year-old Gang-raped & Murdered, Police To Invoke NSA Against Accused

READ | Minor Girl Kidnapped And Raped In UP's Gorakhpur, 2 Arrested In Connection With Case