Missing 5-year-old girl found dead in neighbour’s water tank in Bhopal

A five-year-old girl who went missing two days ago from her home in Bhopal was found dead, with her body recovered from a water tank at a neighbour’s house, police said on Thursday. The minor went missing from her house situated in the Shahjahanabad locality of Bhopal. (HT File) The child had disappeared from her residence in the Shahjahanabad locality on Tuesday afternoon. She had been under the care of her grandmother at the time, who said the girl had gone to retrieve a book from a friend’s house but never returned. Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Punit Upadhyay confirmed the discovery of the girl’s body on Thursday. “The minor was missing for over 36 hours, and her body was recovered from a water tank at a house located across from her home. The body has been sent for post-mortem, and further details will be shared after the examination report,” Upadhyay told reporters. The girl’s disappearance had triggered a frantic search her family and local authorities. Her mother told ANI on Wednesday, “At around 12 pm on Tuesday, my daughter told her grandmother she was going to collect a book and would return shortly. Since then, she hasn’t come back. My husband and I searched everywhere, but we couldn’t find her. It’s been over 24 hours, and no action has been taken yet.” She said municipal corporation vehicles had arrived for fogging in the area when her daughter went missing. “All I want is my daughter back as soon as possible,” she added. The family filed a missing person report at the Shahjahanabad police station on Tuesday. According to Station House Officer UPS Chauhan, CCTV footage from the area confirmed that the girl had returned home from an Anganwadi Centre and stepped out again to collect a book from downstairs, after which she disappeared. “During this time, a vehicle from the Municipal Corporation’s malaria team also arrived for fogging, and after completing their task, the vehicle left,” he added. The municipal corporation’s team, which was fogging the area at the time of her disappearance, was also questioned, but no clues were found. Authorities are now awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the cause of death as investigations continue.