7-yr-old raped, murdered by family friend

The girl's body was found near the Meenatai Thackarey stadium here yesterday.u00a0

The seven-year-old went missing from her house on July 28. Later, the victim's parents told police that one of their family friend, Yogesh Ramdas Khade, had come to their house on Saturday evening and had gone out with the minor girl, police said.

Based on the information, police arrested Khade, who is already booked on charges of theft at Panchvati police station here.

Meanwhile, the body was sent to Nashik Civil Hospital for postmortem, which confirmed that the girl was raped and then strangled, police added.u00a0