All the four accused in the alleged murder of a tenth standard boy, Uppala Amarnath, a resident of Uppalavaripalem village, have been taken into custody, said Bapatla District Superintendent of Police Vakul Jindal.
The accused have been identified as Pamu Venkateswara Reddy and Pamu Gopi Reddy, residents of Rajolu; Maddela Veera Babu of Arumbaka village and Thumma Sambi Reddy.
Mr. Jindal on Saturday said Uppala Amarnath, 15, died after the accused allegedly poured petrol on him and set him on fire at Rajolu village of Cherukupalli mandal in the district on June 16 early morning.
The police registered a case under Sections 354 (D), 341, 506, 302 Read with 34 IPC and Section 8 of the POCSO Act 2012.
Mr. Jindal said the prime accused Venkateswara Reddy was allegedly sexually harassing the sister of the victim. The boy informed about the issue to his mother, his relatives and parents of Venkateswara Reddy. Mr. Jindal sald the boy had also told the residents in their villages about the behaviour of Venkateswara Reddy. Bearing a grudge against Amarnath, the accused could have committed the crime, the SP said.
Investigation was in progress and the police were picking up clues to make the case water-tight. The bottle which was used to carry petrol was recovered. Finger prints were also being traced. Some chappal, other items and clothes were in the possession of police as evidence, Mr. Jindal said.
The SP said the victim apparently gave a dying declaration to the people who were taking him to hospital, where he mentioned that the prime accused was Venkateswara Reddy and three others. The case is being investigated in fast track mode, he said.
Mr. Jindal said that the parents of the deceased boy did not lodge a complaint against the accused persons on the alleged sexual harassment until the incident happened. He maintained that had the parents approached the police earlier, the police could have taken action and the incident could have been prevented.
He said that the families of the accused or the victim did not have political affiliations. Both of them are daily wage workers.
