In a deeply distressing case from Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an eight-year-old girl was found raped and murdered after attending a friend’s birthday party in a village in Mokhada taluka. Local police have since arrested a 21-year-old suspect, the son of a former village head, in connection with this tragedy.

The young girl left home on Sunday afternoon to attend the celebration but did not return, prompting her family to search for her throughout the evening. Her body was later discovered near a village graveyard, leading to a rapid response from local authorities. Police transported her remains for a post-mortem examination and launched an investigation to determine the cause of her death, according to Assistant Inspector Premnath Dhole from the Mokhada police station.