Six-year-old child killed after three years of sexual assault in Kerala

Initially, it was assumed that the child had accidentally died while playing

A youth held for murdering a six-year-old girl child in Kerala's Idukki district has confessed to the police that the child was sexually abused several times over the last three years.

A child of a plantation worker couple at Vandiperiyar in Idukki was subjected to brutal sexual assault, leading to death. The child was found dead in her house on June 30 when the parents returned after work. A rope was found tangled around her neck, and hence it was assumed to as an accident death while playing.

But further investigation found that the child was sexually abused and the accused Arjun, 22, who was a neighbour, was held on the basis of scientific evidence. On quizzing, he confessed that he was sexually abusing the child over the last three years. He killed the child using rope after she became unconscious, police sources said.