Kottiyam, Kollam: The post-mortem report of seven-year-old Devananda has stated the cause of death as drowning. The report comes amid claims by her kin and neighbours of foul play.
Her body was in a bloated state with mud and water in the stomach. She had died 18-20 hours before her body was recovered.
Devananda's body was found in Ithikkara river, near her residence at Elavoor, on Friday morning, a day after she had gone missing from her home.
The police will get a clear picture about the incident only after receiving the forensic reports. Preliminary autopsy report from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College had earlier stated the cause of death as drowning. Residues of mud and silt were found in her respiratory tract.
Police inquest had revealed that there were no signs of struggle or bruises on Devananda's body.
However, the police have recorded the statements of her parents and relatives again after they raised doubts over the death.
Police suspect that the girl would have tumbled into the river while trying to cross a makeshift bridge to reach the river side, which was around 500 metres away from the house. However, they are clueless as to why the girl walked alone.
It was earlier suspected that the child might have headed to a temple she visited frequently. However, Devananda's mother Dhanya had given a statement that her daughter would never walk alone to the river side.
Devananda, the eldest daughter of Kudavattoor natives C Pradeep and Dhanya, Devananda (Ponnu) went missing from her home in Kottarakkara taluk while her mother was washing clothes around 10:30am last Thursday. An extensive search operation was held and her body was found from the Ithikkara riverbank near her home on Friday.
Devananda was a Class-1 student at the Saraswathi Vidya Nikethan School at Vakkanadu, Kollam.
