HYDERABAD: A 17-year-old girl, who went missing after handing over lunch box to her mother selling flowers at Charminar two days ago, was found murdered at Chandrayanagutta on Sunday.

The police believe the girl was sexually assaulted but said forensic experts are yet to confirm it.

Locals found the body at a secluded place on the hillocks near Vyasapuri Colony. Struggle and resistance marks at the scene suggested that at least two persons were involved in the offence, the police said.

The attackers smashed her head with a boulder, killing her on the spot.

Missing links

The partially decomposed body led detectives believe she was murdered on Friday, the day she went missing. "We're not yet sure if some one familiar to the victim lured her to the place or if she was forcibly taken there," Chandrayanagutta Inspector C. Uday Bhaskar Reddy said.

Daughter of a roadside flower vendor Sujatha, the victim, third of four siblings, lived in a rented house at Gowlipura.

On Friday, she started from Charminar after giving lunch box to her mother around 3 p.m. Sujatha told the police that she gave Rs. 10 to her daughter before she left. The girl did not wear any jewellery.

Case booked

When she did not return, worried family members searched houses of friends and relatives but in vain. They approached the Charminar police on Saturday. A case of woman missing was registered there.

While the hunt was on, the police learnt about the discovery of the body of a girl, which turned out to be that of the victim. Sleuths said possibility of the girl being kidnapped from the Charminar area were remote.

"Generally, people going to Shahalibanda and beyond board autorickshaws from Charminar," the police said. Autopsy will be conducted on Monday.

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