According to police, the girl has been missing since August 29. (Representative)
Bangalore:
Three persons were arrested on Thursday for alleged involvement in the rape and murder of a 19-year-old girl belonging to the Scheduled Caste community in Karnataka's Bidar district, an official said.
Bidar police chief Pradeep Gunti said a case has been filed under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with charges of rape and murder.
“Of the three accused, one hails from the same village (as the girl's). The other two are from a neighbouring village. All three have been arrested and legal action is being taken against them,” the police officer said, adding that the incident took place in Basavakalyan taluk.
According to police, the girl had been missing since August 29.
The girl's parents tried to track her down for two days. On August 31, they filed a complaint with the police.
The body was eventually found in a bush on September 1.
A deep head wound was discovered on her head.
After the body was found, police filed a murder charge.
Following the autopsy and forensic tests, rape charges were added to the case.
The police then launched a search for the suspects and managed to arrest them.
On Thursday, several groups, organisations and the opposition BJP party in Karnataka condemned the incident and organised a protest to demand justice for the victim and her family.
During the investigation, police discovered that the victim knew the main suspect and that the two were friends.
The investigation revealed that the main suspect had arrived in a car to pick up the victim, along with two other suspects.
She never came home since then, and her parents became concerned and started looking for her. When they didn't know where she was, they contacted the police.
A police officer said further investigation into the matter was ongoing.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)
