A seven-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed and her body dumped near Grain market on the Samrala Road. The victim, Kiran, a student of Class III at RS Modern School, went missing around 9 pm on Monday. Her half-naked body soaked in blood was found on Tuesday morning near the railway overbridge. SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann pressed fingerprint experts and dog squads into service. The offenders are still unidentified.

Shiv Kumar, father of the deceased, who is a foreman at a flour mill, told Newsline, “My wife and two sons run a shop near Grain Market and Kiran used to help them. On the fateful evening, Kiran was shifting wares from the shop and went missing that time.”

He added, “We searched for her the entire night and later informed the police. We resumed our search this morning and found her murdered in cold blood on the first floor of the water head near the Grain market. Two youths came to my shop about a week ago. I had an altercation with them over an issue of money for the goods they had purchased. Three days into the incident, they again threatened me with dire consequences.”

Shiv Kumar alleged that he had informed the police but no action was taken. SSP Sukhminder Singh Mann said, “We are investigating the case and hope to get satisfactory results soon.”