Man arrested for raping and killing a minor in Telangana: Police | Latest news from India

Hyderabad

A 35-year-old truck driver was arrested for allegedly raping and killing a six-year-old girl in Telangana’s Peddapalli district early Friday, police said.

The incident took place in Sultanabad town in the district. “The accused Balaram, a native of Madhya Pradesh and working as a truck driver in Maitha rice mill, has been arrested,” Ramagundam Police Commissioner M Sreenivasulu told reporters.

A case has been filed under Section 302 (murder) and Section 376AB (rape of a minor girl below 12 years) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, he said.

The victim was the eldest of two daughters of a couple who had moved to Sultanabad from Asifabad in Mancherial district to work in a rice mill.

According to Sreenivasulu, the accused took the minor girl, who was sleeping next to her mother in a camp on the premises of the neighbouring rice mill, to a secluded place behind the mill. “He raped her and when the girl raised an alarm, he strangled her and killed her,” he said.

When the girl’s mother woke up after some time, she realized that her daughter was missing. She alerted her work colleagues and they started searching for the girl. After some time, they found the girl’s body in the bushes.

“They noticed Balaram moving suspiciously in the area and grabbed him. They beat him up before handing him over to Sultanabad police, who formally arrested him and registered a case,” the police commissioner said.

A video clip from the surveillance cameras installed on the rice mill premises shows Balram carrying the minor on his shoulder and walking through a nearly pitch-black area where the girl’s body was found.

“The victim’s body has been sent to a government hospital for post-mortem. Further investigations are underway,” the commissioner said, adding that the accused will be produced before the local court for remand.