Neighbour arrested for 7-year-old girl's rape, murder

In a major development of the rape and murder case of a seven-year-old minor girl from Kasthurinaickenpudur in Pannimadai has been solved. The Coimbatore police on Sunday arrested the prime accused Santosh Kumar in regards to the matter.  

During tough interrogation, the accused confessed to sexually assaulting the girl twice before murdering her.

According to Times of India (ToI), the 34-year-old accused had been living with his grandmother for the past three months. The accused is the girl's neighbor and the rape was committed in his home.

On the day of the incident, the accused invited the minor girl to his home after school hours. While his bed-ridden grandmother was in one of the rooms, he brutally raped the girl twice before he killed her as he wanted to stop her from screaming.

Police had earlier arrested two people in relation with the case before arresting the prime accused. The police had formed 10 investigation teams to look into the matter.

The alleged incident took place on March 27 in Pannimadai, Coimbatore. The parents got worried, when the girl had gone missing while she was returning from school. 

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.