Hyderabad:
Three girls were allegedly abducted and later murdered by their uncle in Nizamabad district of Andhra Pradesh today, police said.
Accused Narender Reddy, aged around 35, lured the three girls Siri (9), Akshaya (7) and Khushi (5) with chocolates and snacks while they were playing near their relative's house in Nizamabad town and took them in a car last night, they said based on a complaint lodged by the girl's parents.
The girls, all cousins, were then taken to bypass road on Nizamabad town outskirts where Narender allegedly poured petrol on them and set them ablaze, before fleeing from the scene, Nizamabad DSP S Anil Kumar said.
"The half-burnt bodies were found near a college this morning and whether the girls were sedated before being killed will be known only after postmortem, the DSP said.
When police checked the call data records of Narender they found that he had gone towards Basar and found the car near a bridge. However, Narender was not there even as one person called the Basar police informing them that he had seen a man resembling Narender sitting on the railing of the bridge, the senior police officer explained.
"We are investigating whether he might have jumped from the bridge into the river. However, swimmers did not find anybody so far," Anil Kumar said adding a case of murder has been booked in connection with the incident.