A 6-year-old girl in India miraculously survived being buried alive when her neighbors allegedly strangled her and left her in a pit to die.
The hunt is on for a married couple accused of kidnapping the child from her home village of Sidhauli and attacking her in a nearby sugar cane field, CNN reports.
The couple was able to get their hands on the girl when they told the child that her mother had asked them to take her to a fair in another village, her uncle Alok Awasthi said.
The murderous plot unraveled when a group of villagers working nearby spotted the pair escorting the youngster into the field and then suspiciously leaving without her.
The villagers went went to check it out and found a pit with the child buried inside, according to CNN.
The girl was not breathing when villagers pulled her out, but she eventually regained consciousness and was later discharged from a local hospital, according to CNN.
“There is clearly an intention to kill the girl but as of now, we don’t know why,” said Sitapur Police station officer Ramesh Kumar.
Cops are still trying to locate the couple and figure out why the two would commit such a heinous crime.