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The Limpopo police have launched a massive manhunt to nab the murderers of a missing 12-year-old girl who was found brutally murdered on Monday.
The girl from Ha-Ravele Village was selling vegetables in her neighbourhood on Sunday, but she failed to come home, prompting her family to search for her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t be found.
The worried family alerted the police on Monday morning, and a missing person file was registered at the local police station. The investigating team was immediately activated.
“Unfortunately, her half-naked body was discovered in the bushes near a farm in Ha-Ravele village, with signs suggesting she may have been strangled,” said police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
Her vegetables and clothes were found in the bushes at the tragic scene.
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According to preliminary reports, the young girl was last seen with an man walking towards Ha-Ravele village.
The police opened a case of murder, and a rape case could also be opened, pending the child’s post-mortem results.
The provincial commissioner of police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, strongly condemned the incident, calling it “despicable and inhumane”.
Hadebe urged parents to be vigilant and appealed to the community to provide information about the perpetrator.
The police investigation is ongoing.
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Anyone with information regarding the incident is requested to contact the investigating officer, Sergeant Romeo Mbelengwa, at 072 981 7722 or 082 3199 597, or Crime Stop number 08600 10111, or use MySAPSApp.
In another horrific incident against a young girl in Limpopo, a 17-year-old boy was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a six-year-old girl at Nwa-Marhanga village in February.
On the day of the incident, the little girl’s mother left her at home and went to a sports field.
According to information, the victim informed her mother that a known suspect to them arrived at home and forcefully took her to the toilet, where he raped her and thereafter fled the scene.
The incident was only reported to the police on Monday, and on Wednesday, the suspect’s parents handed him to the police. He was then placed under arrest.
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“Since he is underage, he was released the same day under parental supervision.
“The probation officer was engaged and is expected to compile an assessment report pertaining to the suspect in regard to the court proceedings soon,” Ledwaba said.
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