An eight-year-old girl was raped and killed on the outskirts of Vrindavan in Mathura district while a woman was sprayed with bullets during morning walk in Jhansi on Saturday.

In Mathura, the girl had gone missing last Thursday and her body was found near a multi-level parking in Chhatikara on Friday morning, the cops revealed.

She had gone with a woman to collect firewood from a forested area on Thursday and had been missing since then, police said.

The woman had unsuccessfully tried to trace the girl and then she had informed her family members who approached the police in the evening, the police said.

Police started a search operation with the help of the villagers but the minor could not be traced till late in the night, Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover said.

He said the body was found in Chhatikara on Friday morning.

“According to the post-mortem report, she was raped and strangled,” SP (City) Udai Shanker Singh said.

SSP Grover said police teams were formed earlier to locate her. He said one person had been taken into police custody in connection with the incident and further investigation was on in the matter.

In Jhansi, a 25-year-old woman, who was on a morning walk, was allegedly shot dead by unidentified persons on Friday morning.

The woman was found lying in a pool of blood on a roadside by a passing Police Response Vehicle (PRV).

She was immediately rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Empty cartridges have been recovered by police from the crime spot.

The police officers claimed to have formed a team to trace the killers of the woman but so far they have failed to get any clue.

“A 25-year-old woman was shot dead yesterday (Friday) near Circuit House, while she was out for a morning walk. The post-mortem will reveal further details. We are questioning people, the case will be solved soon,” SSP Dinesh Kumar P said.

The victim was identified as Pooja Jaiswal, who lived near Chitra crossing. She had left her home for a morning walk at around 5 am. She was gunned down by unidentified persons while she was between Circuit House and Commissioner’s office.

The place where the woman was shot dead is a VIP area where the divisional commissioner has his office and residence. The district magistrate also resides nearby.

According to reports, Pradeep Singh, the husband of the deceased, said his wife went for a walk usually in the evening but on Friday she thought of going in the morning.

Police registered a case and sent the body for autopsy.