Five-year-old child allegedly raped and strangled at seminary in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: A five-year-old girl was allegedly raped and strangled to death at a seminary in Tando Adam, Sanghar district, with police arresting a 16-year-old student in connection with the incident.

The child, identified as Dua, went missing after accompanying her father, Asif Ansari, to the Old Tableeghi Markaz for Friday prayers.

Her family searched for her and mosque announcements were made, before her body was discovered at the same seminary.

Police shifted the body to Taluka Hospital for a postmortem examination. The examination was reportedly delayed for several hours due to an alleged shortage of doctors and medical equipment. The district health officer later formed an inquiry committee to investigate the delay.

Police registered an FIR on the complaint of the girl’s father and arrested 16-year-old Qasim, who was nominated in the rape and murder case. Police said the suspect allegedly confessed during initial interrogation, while claims that he had assaulted other children were also being investigated.

An initial medical report reportedly found fractures on the child’s body. Further forensic and medical investigations are underway to determine the circumstances and cause of her death.