Madikeri: Kodagu police arrested the man who had brutally murdered a minor girl at Kumbaragadige village limits in Karnataka's Somwarpet taluk on May 9. The accused had fled with the severed head of the victim.
Kodagu Superintendent of Police K Ramarajan said that the arrested individual has been identified as Prakash (32) from Hammiyala village in Somwarpet taluk. However, the police are yet to recover the severed head.
Officials had been carrying out search operations for the suspect since late night on Thursday (May 9).
Acting on a tip off that he was hiding in a forest near the village, the police rushed to the spot and arrested him.
The victim girl had passed SSLC exam on May 9 and was murdered on the same day.
It is said that the minor girl 's engagement with the suspect was thwarted by officials from Women and Child Development department on May 9, and later officials had even convinced her parents of not to marry the minor girl.
Police said that both the families had agreed to get them married only after the victim turned 18. But Prakash barged into her house later that day and allegedly kidnapped her. He also kicked her father and assaulted her mother with a sharp-edged weapon. He then took her to an isolated area near the periphery of the forest and murdered her, then fled with her severed head.
"After an extensive search, the accused was arrested on Saturday," Superintendent of Police (Kodagu), Ramarajan K informed news agency PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published 11 May 2024, 03:26 IST