TIRUPATI: In another case of crimes against children, an eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Nelaballi village of Doravarisatram mandal in Tirupati district on Wednesday.
After the girl went missing in the morning, her parents looked for her all day. Cowherds found the body in the forest area on the outskirts of the village and alerted the police.
The girl was the daughter of a migrant worker from Darbhanga district of Bihar. The suspect, too, is from the same state. He reportedly lured the child with biscuits before committing the heinous crime. Police have reportedly taken the accused into custody.
According to Tirupati district SP L Subbarayudu, nearly 40 people from Bihar had come to work at the Dhanyalakshmi rice mill near Nelaballi village two months ago. Among them was a cook, who brought his eight-year-old daughter.
The suspect, also from Bihar, deceived the child by offering her biscuits. He took her into the nearby forest area, where he allegedly raped and murdered her. Police shifted the body to the government hospital in Naidupeta for postmortem.
Police registered a case and launched a probe. “We will ensure that the culprit is punished according to law. We will pursue the case through a fast-track court to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future,” the SP said.