A 15-year-old girl and her 42-year-old neighbour were found dead in Kasaragod district of Kerala on Sunday, three weeks after they went missing, police said, adding that they suspect it to be a case of suicide.
Police said that they found the bodies in a forest near the girl’s residence in Paivalike village of the district on Sunday morning. The bodies were recovered during an extensive search operation conducted by the police, which began after the two went missing on February 12.
“The bodies were found around 11am on Sunday in the forest near the girl’s house. Since the bodies are highly decomposed, the deaths are reported to have taken place many days ago,” an officer at the Kumbla police station said on condition of anonymity. Police said that they suspect it to be a case of suicide.
According to the missing persons complaint filed by the class 10 student’s family, the girl went missing on February 12. The 42-year-old man, a taxi driver who lived a kilometre from the girl’s residence, also went missing on the same day, police said. Investigation is currently underway to ascertain the reason behind the deaths, they said.
The police’s search operation took place near the Merkala forest area as the deceased’s mobile phones were switched off in the area after they reportedly went missing.
“The inquest of the bodies has been completed,” the officer cited above said. “The autopsy will take place at the Pariyaram Medical College and Hospital.”
The two persons, who were purportedly in a relationship, are suspected to have died by suicide.
“They were found hanging around 11 am Sunday on a tree in a part of the forest near the girl’s home in Paivalike panchayat. Since the bodies are highly decomposed, the deaths are reported to have taken place many days ago,” said an officer at the Kumbla police station.
“The inquest of the bodies has been completed. The autopsy will take place at the Pariyaram Medical College hospital,” the officer said.
Zulfikar Ali, local panchayat ward member, said, “The man drove an autorickshaw and was known to the family of the girl. He would regularly take the girls’ father to the hospital. It’s suspected that the girl and the man developed a relationship through those interactions. But the family was unaware of it.”
He said the minor girl was due to write the class X exams this year. She belonged to a poor family with a father going for daily wage work, mother and NREGA worker and a younger sister in school, he added.