In a heartbreaking turn of events, authorities in Visakhapatnam have exhumed the body of a 12-year-old tribal girl, a Class V student from a government school, after suspicions of rape and murder arose.

The incident reportedly occurred in a remote village of GK Veedhi Mandal in the ASR district.

According to the police, the 12-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by an 18-year-old youth inside her house on January 2.

The horrifying discovery was made by the parents when they returned from harvesting their produce and found their daughter's lifeless body around 9 am. 

Mistaking it for a possible suicide, they did not immediately report the incident to the police. Following village elders' guidance, the family buried the girl on the same day.

Upon closer inspection, a family member noticed injury marks on the girl's neck but refrained from raising concerns during the burial.

It wasn't until a day after the tragic event that two friends of the victim came forward, revealing that a youth had entered the girl's house when she was alone, subjecting her to sexual assault.

The parents promptly reported the incident to the GK Veedhi police station, leading to a thorough autopsy by medical experts.

Simultaneously, the police initiated a search operation to apprehend the accused youth involved in this devastating crime.

The exhumation and forensic examination of the victim's body aim to unravel the mysteries surrounding this appalling tragedy.