Shimla: 4-year-old girl sexually assaulted, killed by uncle

A four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted and killed by her uncle in Kotkhai area of Shimla district, police said on Sunday.

In his complaint, the girl's father said that on Saturday he along with his family members had gone out to work and on their return in the afternoon, they found the girl missing from their makeshift house.

During a search, they saw her slippers about 200 metres away from the "dera" (makeshift house) and her body was found nearby. The family suspected that Deshraj, an uncle of the girl, killed her.

Preliminary investigations suggested that the girl was sexually assaulted and strangulated to death.

A case of sexual assault and murder under sections 302 and 376 of the IPC and sections 4 and 6 of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been registered and the accused has been arrested, the police said.