Surat rape case: Identity of the murdered, raped minor still a mystery

The identity of Surat rape victim who was found dead with 86 injuries is still a mystery. On Tuesday, a man from Andhra Pradesh had met the city police and claimed that the deceased girl was his daughter who was missing since October 2017. He had also produced an Aadhaar card purportedly of the girl. Police have sent a sample of the man for a DNA match with that of the deceased girl. The DNA report is awaited.

However, the investigators are not so sure as they continue efforts to confirm the identity of the girl who was allegedly raped and murdered and dumped in an industrial neighbourhood of Surat on April 6.

The victim's injured body was recovered from a cricket ground in Bhestan area of Surat on April 6.

According to the police, it takes about 10-15 days for DNA reports to arrive. However, in the present case, as it has caught the eye of the nation, the reports is likely in the next seven days.

The postmortem report revealed that the girl was raped, tortured for at least eight days. She was then strangled to death. However, the identity of the victim was not known yet and none of her family has claimed the body.

According to Ganesh Govekar, Forensic Head, Civil Hospital, said, ''The girl's body had 86 injury marks including ones on her private parts. Samples have been taken for forensic test to ascertain whether she was drugged or not.''

Most injuries were apparently caused by a wooden-weapon, officials said.

Meanwhile, police have registered a case of rape and also booked the unidentified accused under The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

A reward of Rs 20,000 has been announced for anyone providing information about the girl or her family. Police are now going through the list of missing persons to see if the victim fits any profile.