Idukki (Keralam) | Police said on Friday that they had taken a youth into custody on suspicion of murdering an 18-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu whose charred body was found near the Pambla checkpost here.
The youth, Nishanth (19), a native of Vatapara in Idukki, is being interrogated, and his arrest is expected to be recorded soon, police said.
The charred body of the girl, a native of Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu, was found on Wednesday behind an unused shed near a Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) quarters close to the Pambla dam.
Residents alerted the police, following which officials from Karimanal police station reached the spot and launched an investigation.
Bodinayakanur police had registered a case after the 18-year-old went missing.
Following the recovery of the body, the girl's relatives reached the police station, and arrangements were made for them to identify it.
On Thursday, the relatives identified the body based on the victim's nail polish and physical features, officials said.
Police subsequently began investigating the role of a youth who was allegedly in a relationship with the girl.
Nishanth was taken into custody on Thursday night, they said.
Police suspect that the girl was sexually assaulted before being murdered and her body set on fire.
According to police, the girl left her home on October 11 and reached Poopara in Idukki.
She and Nishanth, who had studied together in Bodinayakanur, allegedly got into an argument while they were together.
The accused allegedly strangled her to death before setting her body on fire, police said.
The girl's family members told reporters that the accused allegedly had relationships with other women and demanded a detailed investigation, including whether he had any criminal history.
The body will be handed over to the relatives after the postmortem examination, police said.
