The death of a 15-year-old girl from Kerala, who disappeared during a trip to Chikkamagaluru, has been attributed to injuries caused by a fall, and a post-mortem examination found no abnormalities, officials said on Monday.
According to the report, the cause of death was a serious injury to the right side of the head. The examination also recorded multiple fractures and injuries throughout the body, all consistent with a fall from a height.
“A team of two surgeons conducted a post-mortem examination at the district hospital in Chikkamagaluru district on Friday evening. The entire process was videotaped under the supervision of senior officials. The examination was conducted by doctors Lohit and Jayalakshmi,” an officer aware of the developments said.
The girl, Srinanda, from Kadambajipuram in Palakkad district, had traveled to Karnataka with a group of about 40 of her relatives. She was reported missing at around 5.35am on Tuesday evening.
Her body was found on the third day of the search, about 2,000 feet deep in a ravine near Baba Budangiri, near the falls.
Police said the location where the body was found is close to the point where it disappeared and can be accessed through a single barricaded road.
During the investigation, officials found that Srinanda had been on a phone call for approximately 17 minutes shortly before her disappearance, including a 15-minute conversation with a friend. While the police are treating the case as a suspected accidental fall, the girl’s family has expressed doubts, and the investigation is still ongoing from multiple angles.
