In a horrific incident, three minor boys allegedly gang-raped and killed an eight-year-old girl in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradesh. Police pressed sniffer dogs after the girl remained missing for four days. Although one of the boys confessed to the rape and killing, the body of the victim has not yet been traced.

The incident took place at Muchumarri village. According to the police, the girl, a class III student, went missing on 7 July. Her father registered a police complaint, saying she did not come back after going to play in a nearby playground. After failing to trace the girl, the police brought in a sniffer dog, which led to the three boys studying in classes VI and VII of the same school as the victim. Later, one of the boys confessed that they had called her to play with them and raped her at a desolate spot near the irrigation pump house.

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Apprehensive that they would be caught if the girl complained to her parents, the trio murdered her by pushing her into the canal. Following the confession, police are searching the backwaters of the Krishna river near the Muchumarri Lift irrigation pump house. Since the water in the canal is quite deep during the monsoon season, authorities say there is a possibility that the body has been washed away. The SDRF was also pressed into service with boats to search for the body of the victim. The incident has sent shockwaves throughout the state.