A five-year-old girl was brutally murdered right in front of her home in Patna on Thursday, reflecting the fearlessness of criminals.

The deceased, identified as Puja Kumari, was a resident of the AG Colony locality under the jurisdiction of Shastri Nagar police station. Puja, the daughter of one Allah Sao, a small-time businessman belonging to lower-middle class background, was playing outside her residence around 2.30pm when some unknown people slit her throat with a sharp object.

The brutal crime has come as a shock for the men-in-uniform, already saddled with a huge backlog of unsolved criminal cases.

'The girl, after being attacked, cried out aloud and ran into her house, trying to press the bleeding wound. She fell unconscious and her family members, along with some residents, rushed her to Paras Hospital. However, the doctors announced her brought dead. The shocking incident is being investigated. The forensic team and the dog squad went to the spot,' said an officer at Shastri Nagar police station.

The businessman and his wife, Bindiya Devi, have seven children, Puja being the sixth. Two other daughters of the couple have been married off and Puja had four brothers.

At the time of the incident, the couple was not at home. Ram Babu Sao, Puja's grandfather, and one of her brothers, Suraj (13), were at the house.

Though investigations were on, police suspected personal enmity to be the cause behind the attack.

'Killing a five-year-old with such brutality is very shocking and there has to be a strong reason behind it,' said another police officer.

According to him the police suspects that her throat might have been slit by a sharp object or a thin and sharp wire. Generally, in such types of cases, the reason is personal enmity. The family is not in a condition to speak but later the police will try to find out if they had any problems with anyone, the officer said.

The daylight murder of a physically challenged man on December 13 near Ashok Cinema under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station remains a mystery for the police. Also, the cops are still trying to identify thieves who shot dead a person in Gaurichak when he resisted a robbery.