The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Tension after missing girl found murdered

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 11, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Tension after missing girl found murdered

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, DEC. 10. Tension prevailed at Sadatnagar of Chatrinaka in old city with angry locals forcibly closing shops after the decomposed body of a six-year-old local girl, Hashma Begum, who was missing from December 4, was found in the bushes near her house on Friday.

The South Zone DCP, Mahesh M. Bhagwat, recommended to the Hyderabad Police Commissioner suspension of Chatrinaka Sub-Inspector, Krishnamoorthy, who was accused by the victim's family members of failing to register a case immediately despite being informed of the girl's missing.

Begum was youngest of the three daughters of a petty vendor, Mirza Mustafa Ali Baig. A second standard student, the girl returned from her school on December 4 and was missing since the same evening. She was last seen moving near the house of an old woman Karima Bee, 60, of the same locality.

Needle of suspicion

After searching for the girl, Baig approached the Chatrinaka police around 8 p.m. saying his daughter was missing. Mr. Krishnamoorthy flashed message across all the city police stations about the missing girl. Pointing the needle of suspicion to Karima Bee and his three sons, Jahangir, Hafeez and Ajju, the girl's father again approached the police three days later.

The SI registered a case of missing girl. Baig expressed doubts that Karima Bee might have kidnapped his daughter alleging that earlier Bee and her late husband were involved in cases of abduction and sale of girls. Except Jahangir, the other family members were brought to the police station and later let off, as no incriminating evidence was found against them.

Police also questioned another suspect, Younus of Talabkatta, who was working as servant in a house. Special teams were sent to Mamidalappaly and Balapur, but no leads could be collected. Meanwhile, Baig's family members picked up a relative of Bee, Afroz Khan of Himayatsagar Dargah area, brought him to Sadatnagar and thrashed him.

This morning passers-by spotted the girl's highly decomposed body in bushes a couple of hundred yards from her house. An injury apparently inflicted with a blunt weapon was found on her head. Abrasions were seen on the knees. Parts of her feet were eaten away apparently by dogs.

"We're yet to receive the post-mortem report. Motive behind the killing is also not clear," the Falaknuma ACP, Gangaraju, said. Irate locals complained to the DCP that the girl could have been saved had the SI taken up the case seriously on December 4.

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