The three school boys, who had raped and killed an 8-year-old girl from their school, were reportedly trying to re-create a porn scene they had watched on phone earlier.
The crime, which took place at a temple in Andhra Pradesh's Nandyal, was committed by two boys aged 12 from Class 6 and another aged 13 from Class 7.
Nandyal SP Adhiraj Singh Rana said that the accused' father and uncle feared that their children would face criminal cases. So, they took the girl's corpse on a two-wheeler, tied it to a rock and threw it into Krishna River.
The accused boys were arrested under rape and murder charges on July 10. Rana noted that the boys had lured the Class 3 student into going with them.
The boys had then kept the body in a canal and told their relatives about it, the SP said, adding that the father and uncle of the accused had also been arrested in connection with the case.
"The three minor accused had lured the child, raped and strangled her. Then her body was kept in the canal. They informed their relatives, following which the father and the uncle of the accused took the body on a two-wheeler, tied it to a rock and threw it into river Krishna. We arrested the minor and the relatives," SP Rana was quoted as saying.
Reportedly, police is continuously searching for the girl's mortal remains in the waterbody. Six police teams, expert swimmers, dog squads, drone cameras, technical teams, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are searching for the body.
SP Rana said that the accused were produced in court on Tuesday, adding that cops wouldn't stop till the girl's body is found.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has approved a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the deceased minor's family.
(With PTI inputs)
