IN a heart-wrenching incident, an eight-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly gangraped by three seniors, aged 12 and 13, and murdered with her body disposed of in an irrigation canal. The incident happened in Nandyal district of the south-eastern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Confirming the incident, the police said the accused minors, who were detained, told them about dumping the victim's body which was yet to be recovered, NDTV reported.
The incident was reported in Muchumarri, more than 300 killometres from Amaravati, the state's capital.
It was learnt that the victim, who studied in Class III, has been missing since Sunday (7) and his family filed a complaint at the local police station. Her father told the police that she was playing at a park but did not return home. A search operation was launched soon after but in vain.
Read: India school bars gang-rape survivor from taking exams, says she would ruin ‘atmosphere’
A sniffer dog was deployed soon after and it led the police to the accused boys. Two of them study in Class 6, aged 12, while one is a year older and studies in Class 7. The victim studied in the same school where the boys go. They later admitted to carrying out the horrific act when questioned by the police.
Read: Indian judge booked for asking gang-rape survivor to strip to see her injuries
It was reported that the boys saw the girl playing in the park and joined her and then took her to a secluded place where they took turns to rape her. Worried that the victim could reveal their act to her parents, they allegedly killed her and threw the body into a nearby canal.
The police said they were still treating it as a missing case since the body was yet to be found, the NDTV report added.
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