'Black magic' claims six-year-old girl's life in Uttar Pradesh's Ghatampur; three detained

KANPUR: A six-year-old girl was killed on Diwali night in Uttar Pradesh's Ghatampur, allegedly by those practising 'black magic', police said on Sunday.

"Three suspects who could be behind the dreaded murder have been detained. Intensive interrogation is on and efforts are being made to know truth from the detained persons," said Deputy IG (Kanpur) Dr Preetinder Singh.

Several police teams have been formed to make sure early arrest of the culprits, he added.

Forensic experts, with the help of sniffer dogs, have been deployed to gather scientific evidence at Ghatampur's Bhadras village.

The body has been sent for a post-mortem.

The DIG said farmer Karan Sankhwar's six-year-old daughter Shreya had gone missing on Saturday evening while his family was preparing for Diwali prayers.

The family could not locate her.

They kept looking for her with flashlights towards the jungles but failed to trace her, the DIG added.

On Sunday morning, the body was found by some villagers passing from there, DIG said.

The injury marks on the upper parts of the body suggested that she was killed with a sharp-edged weapon, said another senior official.

The girl's belongings, including slippers and clothes, were also found lying near a tree.