After interrogation, the police claimed, the man confessed to the crime (Representational)
A 19-year-old man has been arrested by the police in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district for allegedly sexually assaulting and killing two boys within a month. The police said the accused had what they called a "psycho" temperament. They alleged he had "unnatural sex" with the bodies of his victims.
"He is a pervert, dangerous to society. We have gathered forensic evidence and witness accounts. We will file a good charge-sheet before 90 days to ensure he does not come out on bail and endanger more people; the trial to conviction should happen while he is still inside jail," said Ammi Reddy, police chief, Guntur district.
The incident took place in the neighbouring villages of Mellampudi and Vaddeswaram in Tadepalli of Guntur district.
This week, a six-year-old boy was found dead on the second day of his disappearance from Mellampudi. He had been playing outside his house on March 14 and went missing at around 3 pm.
The police had formed special teams to find the murderer.
Later, the boy's family approached the police and said they suspected involvement of 19-year-old Gopi in the child's murder.
After interrogation, the police claimed, the man confessed to the crime. He reportedly told the police that he had kidnapped the boy last week, took him to a banana orchard and beat him to death after sexually assaulting him.
The police also questioned him about another boy, 8, who had been missing since 3 pm on February 11, from the neighbouring village. The police and the family had believed that the boy had fallen into the local Buckingham Canal. The accused, however, confessed to killing him in the same manner.
Villagers said there was a rumour that the accused, when he was 14 years old, had sexually assaulted and killed a friend and dumped his body in the Buckingham Canal. A case was not registered against him at the time as the villagers had convinced the victim's father that the future of the accused would be destroyed if the complaint was filed.
Villagers said that the accused's father is also a criminal, who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for murdering his first wife.