Chittoor Superintendent of Police Ghattamaneni Srinivas on Sunday said the accused in the gang-rape and murder of an 18-year-old girl at Diguvapunepalle in Penumuru mandal would be arrested soon.
The school dropout-turned-cattle rearer was found gang-raped and throttled to death at an isolated location on the banks of Neeva river on Saturday evening.
Mr. Srinivas has pressed into action special teams to track down the perpetrators of the crime. “We have collected some belongings of the victim from the spot, and doctors are conducting tests as part of efforts to pin down the accused,” he said.
Meanwhile, police took several youths from Diguvapunepalle and surrounding villages into custody for interrogation. They also took a statement from a woman who had reportedly seen some youths moving suspiciously near the spot, a few hours before the crime came to light.
Revenue Divisional Officer (Chittoor) Penchala Kishore, who visited the village, said the body had been handed over to the girl’s relatives for the last rites after post-mortem at the General Hospital, Chittoor, on Sunday evening. On instructions from the government, Mr. Kishore handed over a cheque for Rs. 5 lakh as ex gratia to the victim’s mother.
Earlier, officials apprised Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu leading to the CM’s announcement of ex gratia.
The 18-year-old girl was found murdered near Neera river on Saturday evening
