The Pudur police probing the recovery of severed body parts of a woman and a child from the Bhavani River at Cheerakadavu, near Attappadi, said on Monday that the woman was likely from outside Kerala.

"We have received details regarding the identity of the woman and we are contacting family members to cross-check and verify; only then can we confirm," Pudur Sub-Inspector Manikandan told Onmanorama. Preliminary information suggested that the child was the woman's daughter and was under 10 years of age, while the woman was around 30 years old. Police noted that the primary cause of death appeared to be hacking, potentially using a chainsaw.

The autopsies was completed this morning, and officials were stationed at the Thrissur Medical College Hospital. The bodies, estimated to be around four days old and already decomposing, were first spotted by local residents. They first saw one sack resting on the rocks near the river and alerted the Pudur police station. Upon inspection, police recovered two more sacks from the water.

"There were three sacks in total, out of which one sack consisted of the head of the woman and the toddler wrapped in a yellow polythene cover, and the torsos were placed separately in the other two sacks," police said.

According to the Mannarkad Fire Force, a standby crew from Attapadi was called to the spot around 6.50 pm to provide lighting and assist with visibility as the recovery and inquest procedures were being carried out in an isolated area.

Police have registered a case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and a probe is currently underway.