Kerala girl who went missing in Chikkamagaluru found dead

Sreenanda, a class 10 student from Kadambazhipuram in Palakkad who went missing in Chikkamagaluru, was found dead in a valley near Manikhyadhara waterfalls in the Chandradrona hill ranges on Friday. Jitendra Kumar Dayama, the Chikkamagaluru SP, told Onmanorama that she may have accidentally fallen off the viewpoint.“The body has been spotted and identified. It may be an accident, but we are also probing other angles. We can't say for sure at present,” he said. The body was found not too far away from where she was reported missing. The place is heavily barricaded and there is only one way up and down, the SP added.

Karnataka police had deployed around 60 search teams after a complaint was registered. Besides, ten teams were deployed to different states as part of search operations. Suspecting a case of kidnap, police had also identified 240 vehicles which had arrived at the location on the day she was reported missing.

Palakkad SP Ajith Kumar told Onmanorama that a three-member police team will assist the family with further procedures. The team will be camping there and will coordinate with Karnataka police.

Sreenanda went missing near the Manikyadhara waterfalls in the Chandradrona hill ranges on Tuesday. She was part of a 40-member group that was on a family tour. Relatives have told police that she was reported missing near the waterfall where she had taken a few photos. The disappearance of the girl had triggered panic among the family members as she was happily going around the place with other children in the group.

Speaking to the media, Sreenanda's relative said that the spot where the body was found is on the opposite side of the parking area, about 150 metres from where she went missing. The relative said she could not have been there earlier, as her parents were at that very location at the time of the incident. “When I called her parents to say she hadn’t reached the entrance, both of them were standing in the area where her body has now been found,” he said. He also said that police had searched the same area earlier but found nothing.