Teen girl's body found in pond in UP's Deoria; family suspects murder

Deoria (UP), Oct 15 (PTI) The body of a 16-year-old schoolgirl has been recovered from a pond in Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district, prompting police to launch an investigation amid allegations of foul play by her family, officials said Wednesday.

The incident took place in Anharibari village. The deceased was a Class 10 student at Bakhra Inter College, police said.

According to her family, the girl had left home around 2 pm on Tuesday but did not return by evening. Villagers later spotted a body floating in a nearby pond around 8 pm. Upon closer inspection, the body was identified as that of the girl, following which the family informed police.

Gauri Bazaar Station House Officer Rahul Singh said the body was recovered and sent for postmortem to ascertain the cause of death.

"The exact cause will be known after the autopsy report is received," Singh said, adding that an investigation is underway.

On family members alleging that the girl was murdered and her body dumped in the pond, police said all possible angles, including murder, are being probed. PTI COR KIS DV DV