Kollam (Kerala):
The body of a six-year- old girl who was reported missing from near Kerala’s Kollam for the past 24 hours was found along the banks of a nearby river on Friday, police said.
The Kerala police had on Thursday launched a massive search operation for the minor who was reported missing since 11 AM on Thursday.
She went missing when her mother went behind the house for some household chores for just about five minutes.
“We found the body along the banks of the river this morning. We had yesterday searched the river, but could not find anything,” police said.
After preliminary inquest, the body was taken to a nearby hospital for post-mortem.
“The medical team which conducted the post-mortem said the death was due to drowning.
It also said the death occurred at least 18-20 hours before the body was taken for postmortem.
That means she might have drowned within an hour of going missing,” investigating officer told PTI.
Police said the postmortem of the child indicated that she had drowned and said there were no injury marks on her.
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has on its own taken cognisance of the matter.
Later in the evening, the body of the seven-year-old girl laid to rest at her father’s ancestral home near here.
Thousands paid tearful adieu to the child, when her remains were brought to the school where she studied.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolences to the family of the girl.
“The whole state was taking efforts to trace the seven-year-old. It was a shock for us to hear the news that the officials found her body from Ithikkara river,” he said.
Police had initiated massive vehicle search and social media posts about the missing child went viral in just hours, with even celebrities sharing the matter.
However, all the efforts turned out to be futile after her body was recovered by the divers of the police force.
Though the post-mortem report indicated no injury marks on her body, police have initiated a probe to find out how she had reached the river area, which is over 100 metres from the house.
