Vidushi Nautiyal, Pune
After disappearing last Saturday, the missing nine-year-old girl’s body was found on Tuesday in a Puducherry drain.
The girl’s body was discovered by the police a few metres from her home, inside a drain close to Ambedkar Nagar, wrapped in a cloth. Her feet and hands had been bound. According to the police, two suspects, ages 19 and 59, have been taken into custody by the Muthialpet police in relation to the girl’s death.
The Class 5 primary school student reportedly left her home on Saturday to play and never returned. Her parents, Narayanan and Mythili, and neighbours made fruitless attempts to locate her, to no avail. On Saturday night, they filed a report at the Muthialpet police station after searching for hours without success.
After assembling specialised search teams and reviewing numerous CCTV clips from the surrounding region, the police were able to verify that the girl had not left the town. The girl was last observed at noon playing on the road in a nearby street.
The police concluded that the 9-year-old may have been kidnapped and killed. After receiving a tip concerning a floating sack inside a drain close to the girl’s residence, the police retrieved the bag and found the girl’s bound body.
According to police sources, the body was brought to a government hospital in Kadirkamam, and on Wednesday, the post-mortem examination would be performed at JIPMER.
The girl’s parents, along with other residents, protested near the Muthialpet crossroads, calling on the police to step up the investigation. Soon after, hundreds of locals assembled near the tower clock, sparking a small altercation between the public and the police. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), stationed in Puducherry in preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, was called in to stabilise the situation. Some of the protesters were also taken into custody.
Two suspects were detained, according to the police. They further added, “We are interrogating the suspects, and will get a clear picture during interrogation.”. In a memorandum addressed to the Director General of Police, independent lawmaker Prakash Kumar urged action be taken to arrest the people responsible for the girl’s death.