A 15-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district.
Police arrested her 25-year-old cousin, who they suspect had gone into hiding after finding her dead in a remote area. The relative surrendered to the Village Administrate Officer (VAO) on April 26.
The victim, a class 9 student at a private school in Ooty from the Pagalkoodu Mandhu area near Gudalur, arrived at school as usual on Monday, according to police. Her family began a search when she failed to return home by late evening, eventually discovering her body in a remote location in the Angarakudu region.
An official stated, “The girl was sexually assaulted and then strangled. She had injuries all over her body and the attackers’ car, which they used to abduct the girl, was abandoned close to the murder scene."
Police identified the car’s owner as Rajinesh, a relative of the victim’s family, who had gone into hiding. After locals confronted him with suspicions, Rajinesh fled the scene.
The locals then protested, preventing the police from moving the girl’s body for a post-mortem and demanding the swift apprehension of the culprits. Nilgiris Superintendent of Police Prabhakar assured prompt action, leading to the end of the protest.
The girl’s body was taken to Ooty Government Hospital for an autopsy. Pykara police formed two special teams to locate the culprits and filed a case.
Rajinesh, the primary suspect, was married and sought by police following the crime.
On April 26, Rajinesh surrendered to the VAO and was brought to the police station. He was later remanded in judicial custody by the magistrate court.
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