A minor girl was raped and murdered in New Town, Kolkata, within hours of leaving her home after a dispute with her mother, police confirmed on Friday.

Locals discovered the victim’s half-naked body inside a fenced-off, secluded area near a canal, close to a metal bridge, around 9:30 am.

According to police, the girl, a resident of the New Town police station area, left home on Thursday evening following an altercation with her mother, reported The Hindustan Times Bangla.

She had earlier hit her younger sister, and when asked to study, another argument ensued in the family.

Per reports, the victim’s mother reportedly told her, "I can't handle this anymore. Just leave the house."

The girl wrote a note stating, "You asked me to leave, so I am going," and left.

Her family searched for her throughout the night but failed to find her. At around 4:30 am, they filed a missing complaint at New Town police station. Five hours later, locals noticed her body near Lohar Pul and alerted the police.

The victim’s mother later identified her at Bidhannagar Hospital.

The Telegraph Online reached out to the office of the deputy commissioner of the Bidhannagar commissionerate but they refused to comment.

But reports claimed the location was not the scene of the crime. The body appeared to have been dumped at the location.

"The post-mortem examination will confirm the cause of her death. That will also confirm whether she was raped before being killed," one officer said to the Times of India.

The forensic report has confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted before being murdered. Multiple scratch marks, including deep wounds on her neck, indicated a brutal attack, police said. An investigation is ongoing under sections of the POCSO Act.

According to reports, investigators were trying to determine how the girl reached the crime scene, which is around 4 km from her home.

The area, described by locals as secluded and poorly lit, is frequently used as a shortcut by pedestrians.

Residents claimed to the regional news channels that outsiders gather in the area to drink alcohol after 10–11 pm.

The incident has sparked fear among locals, with many stating they will no longer use the street.

The police are yet to ascertain the identities of the perpetrators and whether multiple individuals were involved.

The incident raised a concern about the safety and security of New Town, a satellite township right outside Calcutta. Thousands of offices, commercial buildings are located in this thriving neighbourhood. In the past decade, many residential buildings have also come up in the area, where thousands, whose offices are at Salt Lake Sector V, reside.