AGRA: An eight-year-old girl, who had gone missing earlier this week, was found dead inside a flour container in a rented room in Agra, police said on Thursday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Ali Abbas said the girl went missing in the Tajganj area's Siddhant Nagar locality around 4 pm on March 24.
Her family alerted the police, following which an extensive search operation was launched.
"Eight teams were deployed to trace the child, and CCTV footage from the surrounding areas was scanned. The girl was seen entering the locality in one camera, but did not appear in any subsequent footage," he said.
Acting on suspicion, police broke open the lock of a room rented by a man identified as Sunil, who lived in the same house as the victim.
During the search, the girl's body was recovered from a flour container inside the room, the officer said.
The accused is absconding and multiple police teams have been formed to trace him, officials added. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death.
Angry locals staged protests and demanded strict action against the accused.
According to a neighbour, Sunil had been living as a tenant in the same house for about a year and also worked at the family's shoe factory.
She claimed that he had initially joined in the search for the missing girl but later locked his room and fled, raising suspicion.