Mangaluru : A day after crime,  Police have detained 19 persons for questioning in connection with the suspected rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Dakshina Kannada district, the police said on Monday.

The girl’s body was found inside a drain of a tiles factory in Parari village on Sunday evening. The girl, the daughter of migrant workers, was reported missing around 4 pm, when she was playing on the premises of the factory. After an extensive search, her body was found in the drainage late in the evening.

The girl’s parents are suspecting the role of factory workers. A total of 30 workers from Karnataka and other states work at the factory. Among them, 10 had not turned up for work on Sunday.

Mangaluru Rural police have registered a case of murder that took place in Parari village.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner N Shashikumar said, “We have taken many people into custody. We will ascertain the cause of murder and arrest the culprits soon.”

The parents suspect that their daughter was raped and murdered. The police have presently lodged a case of murder and investigating the case.