Vijayawada, Feb 19 (IANS): The Andhra Pradesh Police on Monday solved the mystery behind the murder of a girl student with the arrest of her boyfriend, found injured near her body.

Angadi Jyothi, a 24-year-old pharmacy student, was found murdered near the Cricket Stadium in Mangalagiri town of the Guntur district on February 13. Her friend Chunchu Srinivasa Rao too was lying near the body with head injuries.

The case rocked the region and the investigations saw two police officers getting suspended for dereliction of duty.

The Guntur Urban police achieved the breakthrough after questioning Rao, who was initially being treated as an eye-witness in the case. He allegedly confessed to killing Jyothi with the help of a friend, police sources said.

With Jyothi pressurising him to marry her, Rao hatched a plan to end her life. He took her to an isolated place where his friend hit the girl on head with an iron rod, resulting in her death. He used the same rod to inflict injuries on Rao to mislead the police.

The police have arrested Rao's friend and recovered the rod from Buckingham Canal where the accused had thrown it after committing the crime.

Guntur Urban Superintendent of Police Vijaya Rao said he would soon announce details of the case.

As the main accused was not in a position to speak and was undergoing treatment at a hospital, the police suspected involvement of others. Jyothi's family members alleged that the investigators suspected it to be a case of honour killing.

On the demand of the victim's family, a second autopsy was conducted after exhuming the body on February 15.

The police later analysed the call data and other social media interaction between Jyothi and Rao. They pieced together other evidences and interrogated the accused, who confessed to the crime.