A man from Andhra Pradesh approached the Surat police claiming that the minor girl, whose body was found in the city on April 6, might be his missing daughter.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference, Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said: "A man from Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday approached us along with some of his family members, claiming that the girl whose body was found on April 6 was his daughter. He said she had gone missing in October last year. The man said his claim was based on the fact that the photo of his missing daughter matched with that of the victim. He also furnished the Aadhaar card of his missing daughter. We are not yet certain that the victim is his daughter. Therefore, we will match their DNA samples to verify the claim.”
This development came even as the Gujarat State Commission for Women sought an action taken report from the Surat police on the rape and murder of the minor.
The minor is believed to have been kidnapped, tortured and raped before being dumped near a cricket ground in Bhestan area of Surat on April 6. Her autopsy revealed that the girl was raped and tortured for at least eight days.
Earlier in the week, Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja said that the Gujarat Police scanned the data of as many as 8,000 missing girls to identify the deceased, whose body was found with 86 injury marks, including marks on her private parts.
"She was strangled to death and the post-mortem indicated that the girl was tortured and raped for at least eight days," Jadeja told reporters in Gandhinagar.
He then said that the Surat Crime Branch was leaving no stone unturned to establish her identity. "The police have scanned details of 8,000 missing girls and it seems she is from outside the state and was dumped here after committing the crime," he said.
Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma earlier said there was no sign of a struggle at the spot where her body was recovered which indicated the crime was committed elsewhere.
Surat Civil Hospital's Forensic Sciences Laboratory head Ganesh Govekar said: "The girl's body had 86 injury marks including some on her private parts. Samples have been taken for forensic test to ascertain whether she was drugged or not."
Police Inspector BK Jhala said the police 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 had also been announced for anyone providing information about the girl or her family.
With IANS inputs