KURNOOL: Fifty days after an eightyear- old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by three minor boys in Muchumarri village of Nandyal district, police are yet to trace her body.
The accused minors had reportedly informed the police that they discarded the girl’s body in the backwaters of the River Krishna near Muchumarri lift irrigation pump house. After failing to trace the body near the village, police said they have extended the search to Telangana side of the Krishna River.
Meanwhile, the girl’s parents are distraught and frustrated with the snail’s pace of investigation.
“Officials, particularly the police, have stopped their efforts to find my daughter. I have no hope for justice. Compensation is not important. I want them to find my daughter’s body. The culprits must be punished and only then, I will feel that justice has been served,” the girl’s father rued.
The incident took place on July 7, when the three minor boys, aged between 13 and 15, allegedly took the girl from a playground, where she was playing, to the pump house and committed the brutal crime.
After the girl’s parents lodged a missing complaint, police launched an investigation. Subsequently, the boys allegedly confessed that they had raped the girl and dumped her body in the River with the help of their elders.
Police launched a search operation in the backwaters of the Krishna River near the Muchumarri lift irrigation pump house. SDRF and NDRF teams have also scoured the depths of the River, but the body was not found.
Justice will be rendered to girl’s parents: Nandyal SP
While the police attributed the delay in finding the body to misleading statements given by the boys and their elders, locals believe that influential people are trying to weaken the case.
A villager, who has been assisting the victim’s family since the incident came to light, accused police of mishandling the investigation and attempting to mislead the public.
“It has been nearly 50 days, and yet there are no prompt answers from the department. The police are not doing enough,” he added.
Responding to the issue, Nandyal district Superintendent of Police (SP) Adhiraj Singh Rana told TNIE that they are committed to finding the girl’s body. Urging the locals to be patient, he asserted that the search operations are still underway.
He explained that the search operation has been extended to cover all surrounding areas of the river, particularly on the Telangana side of the Krishna River, where the body is suspected to have been swept away.
The Nandyal district Superintendent of Police asserted that police are investigating the case from all angles. “Justice will definitely be rendered to the grieving parents,” he added.