Bhopal/Rajgarh (Madhya Pradesh): An 11-year-old hearing and speech-impaired girl's rape and murder has triggered protests in Rajgarh. The community is demanding answers as police struggle to identify the culprit in this horrific crime.

A large number of people took to the streets to demand the accused's arrest and justice for the girl.

The girl who lived in a hut with her grandmother and uncle, went missing on February 1. She was found severely injured in a nearby forest the following day. 

Despite her trauma and excessive bleeding, her family did not immediately alert the police. Instead, they attempted to treat her wounds themselves. “We are clueless about the culprits who raped her. She was abducted late in the night while we were asleep. We will take the culprit to police station if we get a clue about persons who took the life of our child,” the girl’s grandmother told Free Press.

On February 3 after her condition deteriorated, police were informed about the incident. She was taken to a local hospital, where medical examination confirmed that the girl was brutally raped and suffered severe internal injuries. 

9 police teams on hunt Nine police teams are working to identify the culprit who abducted and raped the girl, said Rajgarh SP Aditya Mishra.

"We are rounding up suspects for questioning, but concrete clues remain elusive. While there's no indication of gangrape, the assailant may have been known to the victim. The lack of CCTV footage and the family's initial home treatment, which resulted in the loss of crucial evidence, are hampering our investigation. We are now scrutinising CCTV footage from local liquor shops and questioning all potential suspects," he added.