Andhra Pradesh: 17-year-old girl found dead under suspicious circumstances in Kadapa

A 17-year-old college student was found dead in a remote area near Gandikota, YSR Kadapa. CCTV footage linked a youth named Lokesh, now arrested. Police suspect murder and are investigating possible sexual assault and involvement of others

Amaravati: A minor girl was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Kadapa district on Tuesday.

The 17-year-old girl, a student of intermediate second year at a private college in Proddatur, was found dead in Gandikota under Jammalamadugu mandal. The body was found in the bushes amidst hillocks at an isolated place. A police officer said they found the girl’s body on Tuesday morning during a search operation launched after her parents had lodged a missing complaint at One Town Police Station in Produttur.

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Police shifted the body for autopsy and took up the investigation. Police pressed the Clues team and dog squad at the spot to collect evidence. The CCTV footage from the area revealed that the girl was accompanied by a youth on a motorbike. The youth was identified as Lokesh. Police arrested him, and he was being interrogated.

The suspect had brought the girl to Gandikota, about 40 km from Proddatur, on his motorbike. The visuals were captured on a CCTV camera at a toll gate. Police suspect that the girl was murdered. They were trying to find out if the victim was sexually assaulted.

Investigations were also on to ascertain if any other person was also involved. The victim’s father, Kondaiah, alleged that they had left the village due to harassment by Lokesh in the name of love.

Kondaiah said that, unable to bear the harassment, they had shifted to Proddatur. The girl was studying at a college in the town. On Monday, she did not return home from the college, prompting her parents to lodge a missing complaint with the police.

The victim’s father demanded that the police deliver instant justice by killing the guilty in an encounter. District Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar visited the spot in Gandikota and was supervising the investigation into the case. More details were awaited in the case.