KARACHl: The body of a minor girl, who went missing a day before, was found in an open manhole in Surjani Town on Wednesday. She was raped before being murdered, police and hospital officials said.

They said that the six-year-old girl went missing before Iftar on Tuesday. She had left her home to meet her father, who worked in the same neighbourhood, but did not return.

West-SSP Faisal Bashir Memon said that the girl`s body was recovered from an uncovered manhole in the morning.

Initially, he said it was assumed that she might have fallen and drowned in the manhole. However, the police took the body to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where a female doctor confirmed that she was subjected to a criminal assault, he added.

Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed told Dawn: `Findings are suggestive of a sexual assault.

She said that all samples had been collected and sent for a chemical examination to determine the exact cause of her death.

The SSP said that the family did not lodge a missing report.

He said that an FIR would be lodged on the complaint of the girl`s family. However, efforts were under way to arrest the culprit(s) involved, he added.

Last month, a six-year-old girl was kidnapped, raped and murdered in the Bin Qasim area.