The accused, who has not been identified yet, is on the run, the police said. (Representational)
A seven-year-old girl was found dead in Panipat on Tuesday and it is suspected that she was raped before being killed, police said.
The girl, who had gone missing on Diwali night, was found dead near her home this morning, said Narender Kumar, SHO of Old Industrial Area here.
She had gone to a shop near her home on Monday evening but did not return.
"A post-mortem has been done and the report is awaited," the SHO said while adding that rape is suspected in the case.
She was strangled to death, he said.
The accused, who has not been identified yet, is on the run, said the SHO.
This is the second such incident in Panipat in the past two months.
Over two months ago, a six-year-old girl was abducted, raped, and murdered by a 40-year-old man in Panipat.
The incident had taken place when the girl was playing in a park near her home with her four-year-old brother from where she was abducted by the accused who raped and later killed her.
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