12-year-old raped, murdered in Uttar Pradesh

A 12-year old girl was allegedly raped before being killed in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur district, about 150 kilometres from here.

According to the police sources here, the shocking incident happened under Chikasi police station area in the district on Sunday, when the minor was alone at her home as her parents had gone to work in the fields.

The parents of the victim found her lying in a pool of blood in the house, when they returned in the evening.

Police said that there was no clothe on her body and she also had several injury marks.

''It seems that she was hit on her head with a heavy object and also stabbed with a screw driver on her face,'' said a senior police official in Hamirpur.

Police said that some persons have been detained in this connection and are being quizzed. A case has been registered and two teams have been formed to investigate the matter, the police said.

Cases of crime against women have witnessed a sharp increase in the state in the past few months. The opposition parties have slammed the BJP government in the state for its alleged failure to ensure safety of the women.