A six-year-old was lured away from a wedding with the promise of an ice-cream and raped and murdered in Gwalior on Wednesday night. Her face was mutilated beyond recognition.

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A CCTV camera captured the suspect taking the child outside around 1am. In a heart-wrenching moment, she is seen running away from him, but he seems to call her and she goes back to him. He takes her by the hand and leads her away. He is seen returning alone at 2.30am. Police have zeroed in on a suspect, who was working with the caterers. “We are close to identifying the accused,” Gwalior SP Navneet Basin told TOI.

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Police suspect the rapist-killer struck around 11.30pm, when everyone was riveted on the marriage rituals. He promised the child an ice-cream and led her away, police say. Within minutes, her parents realised she was missing and raised the alarm. When she wasn’t found on the venue, they went to police at midnight. A frantic search ensued and the child’s body was found on a hillock, about 500 meters from the marriage hall, as daylight broke on Thursday. Her face was battered and mutilated beyond identification, say police. Investigators are yet to find out where the child was between 11.30pm and 1am.

MP:Police says,”Body of a minor girl was found in the forest area near Kesar Pahari in Gwalior earlier today.The girl was missing since last night.CCTV footage has emerged of a man taking the girl with him.Drag marks & blood spots found on the spot, post-mortem to be conducted .” pic.twitter.com/LQOis5zmVW

— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2018

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The autopsy report confirmed “brutal sexual assault” on the six-year-old. Her face was probably crushed with a large stone, surgeons said. A case has been registered under POCSO, and police said they could invoke NSA as well.