Bengaluru: 25-year-old man held for rape, murder of minor in Tavarekere

Police said Yellappa, a carpenter, knew the girl’s family who had migrated to the state capital from Koppal district in north Karnataka about 18 months ago

Bengaluru: A 25-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping and murdering a 14-year-old girl in Tavarekere, an area on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The girl’s brother found her in a critical state and took her to a hospital, where she died while being treated. (Representative photo)

Police identified the suspect as Yellappa, who worked as a carpenter.

Police said Yellappa knew the girl’s family who had migrated to the state capital from Koppal district in north Karnataka about 18 months ago. On Wednesday afternoon, he turned up at the girl’s house when no one else was at home - her parents and elder brother were at work and a younger brother in school - and raped her.

Before leaving, he also hit the girl on her face with a gas cylinder. The girl’s elder brother found her greviously injured when he came home for lunch.

“Yellappa had been observing the girl for many days. The incident occurred at around 1.30 pm on Wednesday. Under the influence of ganja, he committed the crime and was arrested at night based on CCTV footage. A case was registered at the Tavarekere police station and investigation is on,” Ramanagara superintendent of police (SP) R. Srinivas Gowda said.

Police said Yellappa had stolen a motorcycle from an unidentified individual in Tavarekere the previous evening and used it to reach the girl’s house.

“After the crime, he also took the gas cylinder from the house and sold it in a nearby village,” a police officer said.