Three people have been arrested in connection with the incident which allegedly happened on August 29, they said. She was allegedly killed after being hit on her head with a stone and later her body was dumped in the bushes, police said, adding, they suspect she was sexually assaulted.

 However, investigators are awaiting medical reports for confirmation. The victim was missing since August 29 and her parents lodged a complaint at Basavakalyana police station two days later, police said. 

 "We registered a missing case and we started investigating. On September one, her body was recovered with multiple injuries on her body including head. We registered a case of murder initially and the accused were unknown. Then based on the technical evidence, we started searching for the accused and we found three people who were in contact with her on the day of her disappearance," a senior police officer said. 

 One of them, who also hails from the same village, was in direct contact with her. "So, we picked the accused and during interrogation, he confessed to murdering her. During interrogation, he said that he went along with two others who were guarding him from far away during the incident," he said.

 "All three accused involved in the incident have been arrested. We are waiting for the medical reports of the victim. She sustained head injuries among other injuries. On suspicion of sexual assault and based on interrogation, we have added sections of rape in the FIR," he said. 

 The prime accused and the victim knew each other well, police said, adding her parents were unaware of it. Further investigation is underway. PTI