MYSURU: Tragedy engulfed a poor migrant family that had travelled from Kalaburagi to Mysuru to sell balloons during the Dasara festivities, after their 10-year-old daughter was found dead near the Mysuru Dasara Exhibition Grounds early on Thursday. Her body was partially clothed and bore injuries, raising suspicions of rape and murder.
In a late-night development, police arrested the accused, Karthik, a resident of Siddalingapura, Mysuru. Karthik was reportedly tracked down and arrested in Kollegal. During the operation, he attempted to escape, prompting police to open fire and injuring him in his leg. He was brought to KR Hospital in Mysuru for treatment.
The girl, belonging to a microscopic nomadic community from Kalaburgi, had come to the city with over 50 other families.
Girl was found 50 m away from tent, in heap of mud
The families had camped in makeshift tents along Doddakere Maidan, opposite Mysuru Palace. For these families, Dasara brings not just festivity but also a few weeks of good income from selling balloons, toys and trinkets to visiting crowds.
On Wednesday night, after winding up sales around midnight, the girl’s family of eight members returned to their small tent to sleep. Around 4am, heavy rain lashed the area, waking everyone up.
“It was then that my uncle realised his daughter was missing. We searched through the muddy grounds in the rain. Moments later, we were told that the girl was lying lifeless, about 50 metres from the tent. Her body was partially buried in a heap of mud,” said a cousin of the victim.
The victim’s family and members of the investigation team raised the suspicion of sexual assault as bloodstains were found in the mud and the minor was not fully clothed.
DCP Bindu Mani, Sundar Raj and members of a special police team visited the spot, took down statements and documented recordings to trace the culprit. A source confirmed that CCTV footage shows an unidentified man wearing a red T-shirt and jeans moving around near the scene. The man is suspected to be a habitual offender who was released from jail four months ago.
According to police, Karthik who is said to be addicted to alcohol had earlier been convicted for attempting to rape a woman in Mandya and served two years in prison. Police nabbed Karthik who had gone to Kollegal by a private bus, and brought him to Mysuru.
