Five-year-old girl raped and murdered in Chittoor

Chittoor: Unidentified persons kidnapped, raped, and murdered a five-year-old girl at Kurabalakota in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Friday. Local populace found the dead girl near NR Function hall at Kurabalakota in the early hours of Friday. The parents of the victim discovered their daughter’s clothes removed and injuries on her body. They also spotted some liquor bottles near to the crime spot.

The police said that the girl, along with her parents, came to Kurabalakota from Guttapalem village in B Kothakota Mandal to attend a relative’s wedding on Thursday. The five-year-old was along with her parents until 10 pm on Thursday at the function hall before going missing. Her parents and relatives immediately started searching for the girl but failed to trace her. On Friday, around 5.50 am locals, found the girl dead behind the function hall.

Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s father, Sidha Reddy, police reached the crime spot and deployed dog squad for clues. The police examined CCTV footage from the Function Hall and observed that the girl came out from the venue and didn’t return.

The heinous crime shocked the relatives and locals. The victim’s mother fell unconscious, and she is currently in shock. Expressing anguish over the incident, leaders, and activists of various women’s organisations staged protests across the state, demanding death penalty for the perpetrators.

Police officials said that they are investigating the case from various angles to identify the culprits. They added that they are collecting CCTV footage in and around the function hall to intensify their investigation.

The police shifted the body to a government hospital for autopsy, after registering a case under Section 320 of IPC (grievous hurt), besides various sections under the POCSO Act.