Missing girl found murdered

The highly decomposed body of a three-year-old girl, who went missing from her house on Monday, was found in Chikkajala on Thursday morning.

Harshitha , was the daughter of Thammanna and Anita, residents of Cheekatageri, Gauribidanur. She had come to her grandmother’s house in Hunisemaranahalli with her mother, who was pregnant with her second child.

Her grandfather Ashwath Reddy works as a security guard at a nearby building. The girl, who was playing near the house, went missing on June 25 at about 11:30 am. The parents registered a missing complaint in Yelahanka police station the same day, but the whereabouts of the girl were not known until Thursday.

Harshitha’s body was spotted by two cowherds who had taken their cattle for grazing near the Kodagalla Hatti Lake on the village outskirts. The men saw a highly decomposed body of a small girl in the bushes of the dried-up lake. They alerted local police, who rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.

The girl’s face was disfigured and beyond recognition. As the news spread through the village, the family arrived and identified the body by the clothes she was wearing.

Anita, who has a four-month-old son now, broke down as she saw the decomposed body of her daughter. Harshitha’s father Thammanna, who lost a hand in an accident three years ago and is unemployed now, was inconsolable.

An autopsy was conducted at Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College and the body was handed over to the family. The Chikkajala police have registered a case of kidnap and murder under Sections 201 and 302, and are investigating.