On the day of the incident, Santhosh took the girl, who was playing in front of her house, to his adjacent grandmother’s house and committed the sexual assault before smothering her to death in a brutal manner.

Next day, the body of the girl wrapped in a t-shirt was found dumped in a narrow lane near her house. While the verdict was expected in the case on Friday, the mother of the victim girl had moved a petition in the court seeking re-investigation. A group of activists including TPDK leader K Ramakrishnan addressed the media demanding the police to reopen the case and bring others involved in the case to book.

“The forensic report of the girl has revealed that one more person was involved in the sexual assault. The police should carry out a proper investigation and arrest him too. Despite informing earlier on the involvement of one more suspect, police failed to act. Now that the forensic report has confirmed our suspicion,” they said.

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