A day after the body of a missing girl was found with injuries in a dry pond at Embal village in Pudukottai district, the police have arrested a 25-year-old man on Thursday on the charge of raping and murdering the girl.
The accused, M. Raja, lives in the same area as the girl who was a Class II student.
The girl was reported missing since Tuesday evening, following which her father lodged a complaint at the Embal police station, where a case was registered.
Just as a search was under way, locals informed the police about the body of the girl being found on a dry ‘oorani’ a few metres from the victim's house. The body, which bore injuries, was immediately sent to the Pudukottai Medical College Hospital, where a post-mortem examination was conducted on Thursday.
Superintendent of Police, Pudukottai, P.Ve. Arun Sakthikumar told The Hindu that based on information from locals that the girl was last seen with Raja, the police conducted detailed inquiries with him.
Mr. Sakthikumar said Raja had taken the girl to a secluded spot and raped her. As the girl began to scream, he hit her on the head with a wooden log, killing her, and left the spot.
Following Raja’s arrest, the Embal police altered the case under IPC Sections, including 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) read with Sections 5 (m), 5 (j) (iv) read with 6 (1) of the POCSO Act and Section 3 (2) (v) of the SC/ST Act.
Meanwhile, a group of Puthiya Tamizhagam cadre and the victim’s relatives staged an agitation at Embal, demanding ₹50 lakh as compensation.
