Child found dead in pond at Rabale cops probing sleepwalk angle

Police investigation into the death of a five-year-old girl, whose body was found in a pond in Rabale four days ago, has found that she used to sleepwalk. The girl, a resident of Gothivali village in Rabale, went missing from near her house on Wednesday evening, a police officer said.

She was identified as Anshika Kumari. Her parents filed a missing person case after they could not find her anywhere. On Saturday, afternoon some villagers found a body floating inside a pond in the area, after which they informed the police. The pond has been created inside an under-construction site and is exactly a metre away from the child's house.

A Rabale police officer said, "The postmortem report did not show anything related to the murder. The children in the area said none of them were playing with her at the time. Her neighbours and family members told us that she used to walk in her sleep. We are investigating whether she sleepwalked into the pond. We are checking with doctors and family members. "

Jitendra Sharma, Anshika's uncle, said, "Her parents are in shock.. We are completely dependent on the police investigation." Rabale SPI, Godse , said, "We are yet get confirmation on the same from doctors. But, we are checking that aspect. too."

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