Chikkaballapur, 11 Feb

Dramatic scenes unfolded at Ethamakalahalli village on Tuesday when police stopped the burial of a 17-year-old girl who died under suspicious circumstances and shifted her body for post-mortem examination.

Kalyani had been living since childhood with her aunt in Gidnahalli village under Nandagudi police limits in Bengaluru Rural district. She reportedly drowned in a farm pond belonging to a neighbour on Monday evening.

Instead of informing the police immediately, family members transported the body to her native village, Ethamakalahalli, under Chikkaballapura rural police limits, and began performing the last rites. However, some relatives expressed suspicion over the circumstances surrounding her death and alerted authorities.

Her aunt, Munirathnamma, who had adopted her from her sister Narasamma and raised her, maintained that Kalyani accidentally fell into the pond and drowned.

Acting on the information received, Chikkaballapura rural police rushed to the village, halted the burial and shifted the body to the mortuary. They directed that the matter be reported to Nandagudi police for further action.