Lucknow:
On a day the first verdict is expected in the brutal gangrape of a Delhi girl that shocked the nation and jolted the government into framing stronger laws, the horrific rape and murder of a 4-year-old has the police scurrying for answers in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The child was found dead on Wednesday with 8 stab wounds on her body and reportedly surrounded by stray dogs, two days after she went missing from her home in Lucknow's Gomti Nagar area. She was said to be sleeping outside with her parents, both labourers, when she was taken away.
Shockingly, the local police tried to pass it off as an attack by stray dogs.
Later, the police claimed they had been misled by a relative of the child who insisted that an autopsy wasn't necessary. But a case of rape and murder has now been registered and 10 people have been held for questioning.
"We have given the instructions. Those responsible will be arrested immediately," RK Vishwakarma, Inspector General (Law and Order), said, promising tough action against cops accused of trying to hush up the case.
The latest incident highlights the fact that crimes against women, even minors, continues unabated in India despite moves to bring in tougher laws and policing.