VELLORE: On a day when the nation marked the second anniversary of the horrific Delhi gang-rape, a 12-year-old girl student of a government higher secondary school was on Tuesday found murdered under mysterious circumstances near K V Kuppam here.
The deceased has been identified as Keerthika, daughter of Vijayakumar, a milkman of Kangkuppam village, according to police. Keerthika, studying in Class VI, had left for her school at Machanur on Monday morning on her bicycle and didn’t return home till late in the evening. Despite a frantic search by her family, she could not be traced.
Meanwhile, passersby on Tuesday found her body in a mango grove at Kalyanaperiyankuppam near Mahadevamalai, close to her hometown. They immediately informed the K V Kuppam police and a police team rushed to the spot. At the crime scene, the police found the hands, legs and mouth of the girl tied with her ribbons, while her dupatta was found tied around her neck. There were knife injuries on her person.
Police said the girl, who had left her school on a bicycle on Monday, could have been intercepted by those responsible for her murder. It is suspected that she could have been raped before being murdered. The body has been sent to the Vellore Government Medical College hospital for autopsy.
As part of the investigation, police dog Rita was summoned and fingerprints were lifted from the crime scene. SP Senthilkumar visited the spot and conducted enquiries with the locals.
Later, police picked up some local youth, including one from the girl’s hometown, on suspicion for questioning. Sources said the cycle used by the girl was found at a secluded spot near the crime scene.