In a shocking incident, a 10-year-old boy was sodomised and killed by a minor in the Old City area of Hyderabad on Thursday.
The body of the deceased was found on the rooftop of a government school in Barkas area on Thursday.
He had been missing since June 28 and his parents had lodged a complaint with the police.
During the investigations, police found that he was last seen with his 17-year-old neighbour. The accused was identified with the help of CCTV footage and picked up for questioning.
Deputy Commissioner of Police V. Satyanarayana said the accused admitted that he took the victim on top of the school building and sexually assaulted him.
Fearing that the boy might tell about his act to others, the accused murdered him by hitting him on his head with an iron rod.
Police took the accused into custody for further investigations.
The victim's parents said he had gone out to play, but when he did not return till late in the night, they lodged a complaint with Chandrayangutta Police Station.
“It is horrifying to see my youngest son lying dead. We had weaved so many dreams around him, but now everything is shattered," TOI quoted the boy's father, Jameel Khan, as saying.
MBT leader Amjed Ullah Khan speaks to the victim's father
The Hindu reported that the accused himself was sodomised by two people around two years ago, and was offered Rs 20 to keep the incident a secret.
Following this, the juvenile began indulging in the act himself, and had targeted 15 boys so far, the report added.
Other reports add that the accused used to lure his victims by offering them chocolates, or small amounts of money.