In a gruesome murder, a nine-year-old girl was brutalized, mutilated, and left to die in a wheat field on the outskirts of Madhopur village under the Amaria police station in Pilibhit .

The Class 3 student was found dead with her abdomen cut open and visceral organs scattered all around, police said.

According to the girl's father, Anis Ahmad, Anam had gone with her uncle, Shadab Ahmad, to attend a religious function in a nearby village, Sarainda Patti, on Friday night.

She mysteriously went missing that night. The family kept looking for her and finally managed to find her on Saturday.

"I immediately called for an ambulance as she was still breathing. On the way to the hospital, she tried to disclose the name of her attacker but before she could do so, she succumbed to her injuries," Anis Ahmad said.

Superintendent of Police Dinesh Kumar Prabhu rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.

Police have registered an FIR against a local villager, named Shaqil Vaistava, and taken him into custody.

According to police, Anis Ahmad had an old enmity with Shaqil.

An FIR had been filed regarding the case and it is still pending in court.

SHO Mukesh Shukla said, "A blood-stained knife was recovered from a field located at a distance of about 500 meters from the murder spot. The forensic team has collected all the necessary evidence. The accused has been booked under IPC section 302 (murder)."

SP Prabhu said, "Based on the autopsy report, we have ruled out rape as of now. Further investigation in the matter is underway." (KB/IANS)