Mystery shrouds 11-year-old’s death  

Mysuru: An 11-year-old girl was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her house in Ganesh Nagar yesterday afternoon.

Initial accounts suggest that she may have died by suicide after being scolded for not attending school after the Dasara holidays. However, doubts raised by her relatives over the circumstances of her death have prompted the Police to investigate the case.

The deceased has been identified as Divya, daughter of Siddaraju and Bharathi of Udbur village in Jayapura hobli.

According to area residents and the Police, she was living with her grandparents, Mahadevamma and Govindaraju, while her parents lived separately.

Following the Dasara holidays, Divya had reportedly stopped attending school. Family members are said to have scolded her over her absence from classes. Later, her mother and grandmother left for their daily work.

During their absence, Divya was found hanging from a grille structure inside their sheet-roof house, using a saree at around 2.30 pm. Neighbours who noticed the incident informed her family members.

The family initially did not inform the Police and made arrangements to take the body to the crematorium near Ganesh Nagar for the last rites. However, while they were on their way, the Police received an anonymous tip-off about the unnatural death and the funeral arrangements.

Police personnel rushed to the crematorium, stopped the last rites and took custody of the body after removing the floral garlands. The body was later shifted to the mortuary at JSS Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The Police have taken up an investigation. While the initial information points to the girl having taken the extreme step after being reprimanded over her schooling, her relatives have raised doubts about how an 11-year-old could have reached the height required to hang herself. The Police are awaiting the post-mortem report to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.