Minor boy sexually assaulted, murdered by youth; accused held

Dharmapuri: A 19-year-old school student was arrested for sexually assaulting and murdering his junior, a 10-year-old boy, near Adhiyamankottai on Wednesday.
The Adhiyamankottai police said the accused, identified as S Elango, of the Mittarettialli village, took the victim from his school around noon.
“Elango sexually assaulted the minor boy near an agricultural well.When the boy raised the alarm, Elango pushed him into the well,” Dharmapuri district SP N Stephan Jesubatham said.
The Adhiyamankottai police arrested Elango after the victim’s parents lodged a missing complaint and initiated an investigation. Police also collected CCTV footage showing Elango taking the minor boy from school and returning home without him.
The body of the boy was retrieved from the well around 2am on Thursday. Police sent the body to the Dharmapuri district government medical college and hospital for a post-mortem.
The Adhiyamankottai police registered a case against Elango under sections 302 (murder), and 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the IPC and the Pocso Act. Elango was lodged at the Central Prison, Salem, under judicial custody.