Vellore: An 11-year-old girl was found dead near Vellore on Tuesday and is suspected to have been murdered after being raped by unidentified persons, police said.
The girl, a sixth standard student at a government school and a resident of Kalyana Periyankuppam village, did not return home after going to school yesterday, they said.
Residents found her body in a mangrove on Tuesday and alerted the police.
A senior police official said the body bore strangulation marks besides knife injuries, suggesting that the child could have been murdered.
The body has been sent to Vellore Government Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
The autopsy would confirm whether it is a case of rape and murder, the police official said.
Meanwhile, the police have arrested a class 10th student who is alleged to have involved in the act. The accused was hiding in Hosur town of Krishnagiri district and is being bought to Vellore for further investigations.
The motive of the crime is not known yet. The 11-year-old girl was last seen with the accused around 1 PM on Monday while they were returning home after appearing for an examination at their school. Both the accused and the victim were students of Government High School, Vellore.
