A nine-month-old girl has been murdered after abduction at Aurahi Municipality in Mahottari district.

The body of Sonalika Chaudhary, daughter of Santosh Chaudhary, was found at a mango garden belonging to Feku Chaudhary in the municipality on Monday afternoon. Santosh runs a grocery shop at Aurahi bazaar.

Family sources said one Bharat Sah, 25, of Bhangaha Sitapur-6 had kidnapped the girl. Sah was seen in the area for the past couple of days and police said a CCTV footage of a shop from where family sources say Sonalika was abducted also showed Bharat carrying Sonalika.

Santosh said he had gone to his sister’s home for Rakshya Bandhan and his wife and his kids were at the shop. It was then when Bharat came to his shop and abducted the girl when his wife was busy with customers.

Police said there are blue marks all over the girl’s body. But the reason behind the murder has not been known yet.

A police team under the command of DSP Khagendra Bahadur Khadka has intensified the search for absconding Bharat.