Death of minor girl under suspicious conditions triggers public outrage in Madanapalle

The death of a seven-year-old girl under suspicious conditions in Madanapalle triggered sharp public outrage and protests on Tuesday.

According to information, the child went missing on Monday evening while playing in the vicinity of their locality. The parents, relatives, and neighbours launched a search till early hours of Tuesday.

Under these circumstances, she was found dead in a water drum at the house of a neighbour, identified as a youth named Kulavardhan. The parents alleged that the girl was sexually assaulted and murdered, and that the body was concealed overnight.

The incident led to large-scale public anger in Madanapalle, with over five hundred people joining the girl’s family members and relatives and staging a protest by squatting in front of the house of the neighbour.

The protesters also blocked the roads and refused to allow the police to shift the body to the area hospital for a postmortem examination.

Slogans were raised calling for the suspect to be handed over to family members or subjected to public punishment.

Due to road blockades, traffic came to a standstill for several hours at various junctions en route to Bengaluru, Tirupati, and Palamaner. The area police said that as per preliminary inquiry, the suspect had a history of indecent behaviour with women and girlchildren in the locality.

Kadapa Superintendent of Police Nachiketh Viswanath rushed to Madanapalle and urged the family members and the public to cooperate with the police. As the agitators kept insisting that the suspect be handed over to them, the senior police officials ordered deployment of additional forces.

Deputy Inspector-General (Kurnool Range) Koya Praveen has left for Madanapalle. He ordered the deployment of additional forces in Madanapalle town to maintain the law and order.

Meanwhile, the I-Town Inspector (Madanapalle) declined to make any comment on the case. Another official said that the criminal proceedings would follow only after the postmortem report is ready. “Top priority now is to prompt the parents to cooperate with the police and allow postmortem examination of the deceased,” he said.