Body of missing girl found in well

The Nilgiris district police have found the remains of an eight-year-old girl, who had been reported missing since December.

The girl, the daughter of two tea estate workers from Jharkhand, had gone missing on December 21, last year. Initially, police suspected that she could have been killed in an animal attack. However, as they couldn’t find any clues, they broadened their search to surrounding districts as well, fearing that she may have been kidnapped.

D. Suresh, DSP, Coonoor, said that police had discovered the remains of the girl around 2 km away from her home in a tea estate near Thuthurmattam. The body was found in an abandoned well surrounded by a patch of forest.

“As the body was in a severe state of decomposition, we managed to confirm that the body was that of the little girl from her clothes and other possessions that she still had on her,” said Mr. Suresh, who added that only after the completion of the postmortem could police reveal the cause of death.

Officials confirmed that a preliminary investigation had revealed suspicious marks consistent with injuries sustained by the girl prior to her death. They are treating the death as suspicious and could alter the case of suspicious death to murder.