Tirupati, 2 Nov

A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by her distant relative at a village in Tirupati district, said a police official on Saturday.

According to Tirupati district superintendent of police L Subbarayudu, Nagaraju (24), who is the victim's maternal uncle, lured the girl to a secluded place in AM Puram village by offering her snacks on Friday evening and committed the crime.

"Nagaraju lives near the girl's house and used to play with her everyday. Yesterday (Friday) evening he took her to a shop and bought some snacks. Later, he took her away from her house and sexually assaulted and killed her," he said.

Later, the parents of the girl noticed that she was missing and launched a search for her, and realised that she was last seen with Nagaraju.

They lodged a police complaint over the missing girl.

Following the complaint, the police immediately registered a missing case and took Nagaraju into custody.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, they said.

Later, police took Nagaraju along to search for the girl's body and found it near a government school around 9pm.

Nagaraju was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and other relevant sections.

The accused will be produced in a local court on Saturday.

Tirupati SP said they will seek a fast-track court for a speedy trial of the case.-PTI