Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday told the Assembly that the police were probing whether there was any foul play in the death of six-year-old Devananda in Kollam last week.
Local people had found the child’s body floating in the Ithikara lake, nearly half a kilometre away from her house.
Devananda’s father, Pradeep Kumar, a non-resident Keralite employed in the Gulf, and mother, Dhanya; a housewife, had said they had suspicions about their child’s demise and averred she was too young to stray so far from her house on her own.
Dhanya said she found her daughter missing when she returned home after rinsing her clothes. The child’s disappearance had triggered a massive search involving a posse of local volunteers, expert divers, sniffer dogs, fire and rescue department officials, and law enforcers.
A team of doctors had conducted the post-mortem examination. “The findings are consistent with death due to drowning. An additional report will follow on receipt of laboratory investigations,” Mr Vijayan said. The Chief Chemical Examiner’s Laboratory and State Forensic Sciences Laboratory experts were on the case, he said.
The police, people and emergency services had responded overwhelmingly to trace the child. They did an extensive search. The government was fully updated about the developments. However, the hopes of the people were dashed when few responders noticed the body in the lagoon.
Mr Vijayan said the Assembly and the government empathised with the parents. They had the support of the State. The CM was responding to a submission moved by the Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala.
Mr Chennithala said the people need a sense of closure in the case and the government should conduct a foolproof investigation. The police should answer the doubts aired by Devananda’s parents and neighbours.