Madanapalle child rape-murder accused found dead in village tank

Madanapalle: A day after a shockin:g crime involving a seven-year-old girl in Madanapalle, the lone accused in the case was found dead on Wednesday morning, bringing a dramatic turn to the investigation.

Police said the body of Kulavardhan (30), who had been on the run since the offence surfaced, was discovered floating in a village tank at Kanasanivaripalle under the Mudivedu police limits in Annamayya district.

Officers from Mudivedu and Madanapalle recovered the body and shifted it to the government hospital in Madanapalle for autopsy. His identity was confirmed with the help of family members.

According to investigators, the accused had allegedly kidnapped the child near his residence at Neeruguttuvaripalli on Monday evening. He is believed to have sexually assaulted her and later killed her by drowning her inside a water drum at his house. The girl’s body was found there the next morning, triggering widespread anger in the locality. As word of the incident spread on Tuesday, huge crowds assembled near the homes of both the victim and the accused, demanding stringent action and swift justice.

Police had taken Kulavardhan into custody the same day, but he escaped from the police vehicle while being moved for questioning.

A manhunt was immediately launched, and his body has been found in a tank by Wednesday morning.

District superintendent of police Dheeraj Kunubilli said preliminary findings from the post-mortem suggested that the accused died by suicide, having drowned himself in the waterbody near Angallu.

After confirmation of his death, some residents in Madanapalle reportedly set off firecrackers, viewing the development as swift justice for the victim. Meanwhile, the final rites of the child were conducted at her native village, Dinnemeedhapalli in Veeraballi mandal, where grieving family members and villagers gathered to bid final adieu to the 7-year-old victim. Meanwhile, the family members of Kulavardhan have reportedly refused to collect the body while his mother was not even interested to see his mortal remains for the last time. The body was reportedly kept at the mortuary even by Wednesday night.