Andhra Pradesh: 9-year-old girl raped by older students, body thrown into canal – News from India

A nine-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three underage boys who were her older classmates and her body was thrown into a canal in Nandyala district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Nandyala district police superintendent K Raghuveera Reddy said the girl, who was playing in a park on Sunday, was molested by the boys and then pushed into the Mucchumarri Lift irrigation canal, PTI reported.

“They (the boys) harassed them and pushed them into the canal. It happened around 5 pm on Sunday. They all came from Mucchumarri village and all knew each other,” Reddy told PTI.

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Two of the accused are 15 years old while the other is 12 years old, the official added.

The third-grade student had been missing since Sunday and her father had filed a missing person report at the local police station. He had told police that the girl had been playing at Muchumarri Park but later did not return home. Police launched a search and questioned local residents but were unable to locate her.

A sniffer dog led police to the three minor boys. All three are students of the same school as the girl. During questioning, the boys admitted to raping and murdering the girl, police said, NDTV reported.

According to SP, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived at the canal on Thursday to search for the body.

(With inputs from PTI)