A 14-year-old girl belonging to the Toda tribe was found dead in the Shooting Medu area in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district on the night of April 24. On April 26, Rajnesh Kuttan, a relative of the girl who was suspected to have raped and murdered her, surrendered himself at the Village Administrative Office in Pykara.

On the day of the incident, the deceased girl –a 9th-standard student at a private school in the town –was picked up by the said relative after convincing her that her parents were not able to pick her up from school. By around 6 pm, her parents began searching for her and lodged a police complaint.

The police found a girl's body around 6.30 pm in the Hungerford area among isolated bushes. The deceased’s parents were soon informed and they confirmed it was their daughter. Rajnesh was found to be missing, but his car was identified near the area, making him a prime suspect. The girl sustained 4 head injuries and was reportedly strangled to death. Her body was later sent to the Udhagamandalam Government Hospital for post-mortem. 

According to the police, Rajnesh attempted to rape the minor girl, injured her severely, and strangulated her to death. The primary investigation revealed that he acted alone in the crime. 

Speaking to TNM, a senior police official confirmed that Rajnesh Kuttan has been remanded in custody until May 11.

According to a report by TNIE, the suspect was booked under Sections 7 (Sexual assault) and 8 (Punishment for sexual assault) of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and under IPC Section 302 (Punishment for murder).