In a gruesome incident, a six-year-old girl was found murdered after being raped at Churakulam Estate in the Vandiperiyar area in Kerala's Idukki district.
The police has confirmed that the minor, who became unconscious during the brutal sexual assault, was hanged by the assailant in a room in the tenement located in the estate.
The body of the minor was spotted hanging by a rope in the tenement on June 30.
The police have arrested the suspected assailant Arjun (22). Initially, it was felt that the child might have got accidentally entangled in the rope while playing in the room. However, the doctor who
conducted the postmortem found that the child had been subjected to brutal sexual assault.
The probe carried out subsequently led to Arjun's arrest. The autopsy also hinted that the youth, who was living in the same tenement, might have been sexually assaulting the girl frequently.
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The police said that Arjun took advantage of his closeness to the victim's family. He could enter their house at any time. Arjun used to sexually abuse the child after her parents left home in the morning for the day's work at the tea garden.
While being sexually assaulted on June 30, the girl became unconscious and collapsed on the floor. Arjun thought the child had died and in panic tied a rope against the ceiling and hung her body against it. When information regarding the child's death came out, Arjun was seen crying profusely. He even attended the cremation of the minor.
(This article was first published in onmanorama)