BHUBANESWAR: In a shocking incident, the body of a five-year-old girl was found with her throat slit in a slum within Airfield police limits here.
Police did not rule out sexual assault of the minor whose body was found in her neighbour’s house.
The neighbour, however, is absconding, police said.
The incident took place at around 6 pm in Kela Basti. Police said the victim’s family was in cordial terms with the neighbour who would often offer her chocolates. It is suspected the child may have been lured into the accused’s house on Monday evening too.
After the girl went missing, her parents launched a frantic search. When they went to the neighbour’s house, the girl was found lying in a pool of blood with cuts on her neck. She was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.
Police said, the body was sent for postmortem.
“We would be able to ascertain if the girl was sexually assaulted only after the autopsy report is received,” ACP Girija Chakrabarty said.
The victim’s parents are daily wage earners while the accused too is a labourer. Police said, the suspect was addicted to alcohol. Chakrabarty said a case of murder has been lodged and police teams have launched a manhunt for the suspect.