CHIKKAMAGALURU: A 15-year-old boy abducted a 12-year old on her way back from school and allegedly raped her in a forested area, near her home in a village in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru district , on Saturday afternoon. The girl’s parents, both farmers, found her body soon after. The boy had smashed her head with stones when she resisted him, and assaulted her as she bled to death.

The crime jolted Kesagodu village. The boy, who was found wandering out of the forest by the girl’s parents, was detained. A case has been registered under the Juvenile Justice Act.

“He abducted her and took her inside a forest when she was walking home. When she offered resistance, he pounded her head with stones and sexually assaulted her, ” police said.

Superintendent of police K Annamalai said: “The girl is a Class 6 student of a school. Around 2 pm on Saturday, she was returning home in an autorickshaw. The driver dropped her 1.2 km from home as usual. While she was walking home, a 15-year-old boy abducted her and took her inside a forest. When she resisted, he pounded her head with stones and sexually assaulted her. She died on the spot,” he said. The Class 9 boy was irregular at school, police said.

The girl’s house is located more than a kilometre off the main road and her mother used to walk home with her every day. On Saturday, the autorickshaw dropped her 10 minutes early and the girl decided to walk home on her own. She was walking down a forested stretch of about 200 metres when the boy accosted her. Police said the boy had hatched a plan 4-5 days ago to abduct a girl. When he found the victim walking alone, he dragged her into the woods.

By then, the victim’s mother had reached their usual spot. When she didn’t find her daughter, she called up the autorickshaw driver. She panicked when the driver said he had dropped the girl a while ago. She and her husband launched a search for the girl. As they walked towards the forested stretch, they saw the boy walking out. Their fears were soon heightened when they found their daughter’s water bottle lying on the ground.

Convinced something had happened to her in the forest, they walked about 250 metres from the main road and found her body. Her face was barely recognizable. They informed police, who nabbed the boy in 40 minutes. The boy admitted to the crime, police said.

