Two 13-year-old girls studying in Class VIII at a government-run institute and staying in its hostel were allegedly sexually assaulted by an auto-rickshaw driver and his friend at Rudravaram village on the outskirts of Machilipatnam in Krishna district.

The girls, natives of Gannavaram and Rudravaram, had left their school two days ago to go home. They boarded an auto-rickshaw at Machilipatnam later that night. The driver and his friend allegedly took them to an isolated place at Rudravaram and sexually assaulted them.

The incident came to light the next day after one of the girls fell ill. Following a complaint about the girls going missing, Pedana police initially registered a missing case. The Machilipatnam police later altered the case and booked the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, and other relevant provisions, including rape, on Saturday.

“We verified CCTV footage from near the school, Koneru Centre and the Machilipatnam bus station and traced the girls,” a police officer investigating the case said.

Speaking to The Hindu, Krishna district Superintendent of Police V. Vidyasagar Naidu said efforts were under way to arrest the accused.

“Police visited the school, bus station and the place where the offence allegedly took place. We are investigating whether any other persons were involved in the incident,” the SP said.

The girls were sent for medical examination, the police said.

Published - August 09, 2026 06:00 pm IST