Addressing the media at the district Congress committee office here, Kulayi said that those who raped and throttled the minor girl to death should not be spared.

 

"The number of heinous crimes on small children is witnessing a spike. These maniacs should be taught a lesson," she said.

 

"Recently, a 2-year-old girl was raped and later her body was thrown into a water tank. Now an 8-year-old girl has been gang-raped and killed. Her body was dumped into a drain. The accused should be shot," she added.

 

She also demanded that no advocate should take up the case of the accused persons, who should be encountered in the same way as it was done by the Hyderabad police.

 

"In Dakshina Kannada, politicians are divided on communal lines in matters of rape and murder. No one raises voices when the crime is committed by the persons of the same religion. They immediately react if the accused and victim belong to different religions. This attitude should be shunned and all should raise their voices against rape cases," she demanded.

 

The gruesome incident took place on Sunday. The minor girl went missing from the premises of a tile factory where her parents worked. After frantic search, her body was recovered from a drain attached to the factory.

 

The investigation revealed that when the girl was playing with her three siblings, the accused took her to a room by covering her mouth and took turns to rape her. The accused then strangulated her to death and dumped the body in drain. The post-mortem report confirmed strangulation, anal sexual abuse and excessive bleeding.