Amaravati, Feb 18 (IANS) The suspect in the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl had escaped from police custody, police said, adding that his body was found in a lake in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district on Wednesday.

Kulavardhan (30) was found dead in a lake in Kanasanipalli village Kuralabalakota mandal.

District Superintendent of Police K. Dheeraj told media persons that the accused escaped when he was being taken in a police vehicle on Tuesday. The DSP said the police launched a hunt for him, and on Wednesday morning, his body was found in the lake in Kanasanipalli village.

The SP said the preliminary investigation shows that the accused died of suicide. The police have informed his family.

The locals found the body and alerted police. The body was shifted to government hospital in Madanapalle town for post-mortem examination.

On Tuesday, the body of a seven-year-old girl was recovered from a drum at Kulavardhan’s house.

The child, the daughter of a local handloom worker, went missing on Monday. A student of second class at a school in Madanapalle, the girl was playing near her house as the school was closed on account of holiday.

The parents, who were away on work, started the search when they did not find her on their return in the evening. As she could not be traced, they lodged a complaint with the police.

As Kulavardhan, the victim;s neighbour, had a criminal record, a policeman went to his house as part of the investigation. The house was locked from inside and when there was no response to the door-knock, the cop peeped through the window and found Kulavardhan asleep.

The policeman left the place but the next morning when the victim’s grandfather told police that she was last seen with Kulavardhan, police entered the house and found the girl’s body in the drum.

Police later apprehended Kulvardhan and was shifting him to a police station when he escaped.

The rape and murder of the child triggered outrage with locals demanding justice for the victim, daughter of handloom worker.

Demanding stringent action against the accused, locals staged a sit-in on the National Highway, bringing vehicular traffic to a grinding halt for several hours.

Madanapalle MLA Shahjahan Basha expressed deep anguish over the incident. The MLA spoke to the victim’s parents over the phone, and assured them of full support from the government.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Koya Praveen said the post-mortem examination and preliminary investigation revealed that the accused raped the girl and then drowned her in a water drum, killing her in a very cruel manner.

Police had booked the accused on the charges of rape, murder along with the POCSO Act.

The accused had a previous case under Section 324, which was settled through a Lok Adalat compromise.

Locals said he frequently consumed alcohol and behaved indecently with everyone.

–IANS

ms/svn