New Delhi, 8 June

A nine-year-old girl was found stuffed in a suitcase at a neighbour's house in northeast Delhi's Dayalpur area, triggering protests by family members and locals who alleged sexual assault and murder of the minor.

Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in the area on Sunday to maintain law and order.

Police sources said the perpetrator seems to have fled after stuffing her in a suitcase. Senior officials of the Delhi Police said all angles are being probed, including sexual assault.

"We are awaiting the autopsy report to confirm the cause of death. Teams have been formed to nab the absconding accused. We are taking this matter with utmost seriousness," a police officer said.

The child, a resident of Nehru Vihar, had gone to give ice to a relative living nearby around 7 pm, her family said.

When she did not return home for a long time, her parents began searching for her. According to the victim's father, they approached several relatives and neighbours, but no one had seen her after her brief visit to one relative's house.

"She had only gone to deliver some ice to our relatives. They said she stayed for five minutes and left. But she never came back. We looked everywhere. Finally, someone told us she was seen entering a house nearby. That's where we found her in a suitcase," he said.

The girl's father alleged that when he reached the house, it was locked. Suspecting something was wrong, he broke the lock and entered the room.

Inside, he found his daughter stuffed in a bloodstained suitcase. They rushed her to a local clinic, but the doctor asked them to take her to a hospital immediately. At Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital in Shastri Park, doctors declared her brought dead, the father said.

A PCR call reporting the incident was received at Dayalpur police station around 8.41pm, police said.

A case has been registered at Dayalpur Police Station under relevant sections of the BNS, along with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The incident sparked massive outrage in the neighbourhood. Soon after news of the girl's death spread, hundreds of residents, including the girl's relatives, blocked a nearby road and sat on dharna demanding justice.

The protestors raised slogans against the police, alleging negligence, and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprit.