Putting end to speculations of foul play, the postmortem report confirmed that six-year-old Devananda, whose body was found along a river bank near her house in Kollam, Kerala, died due to drowning.
She was reported missing for the past 24 hours. Divers recovered her body from Ithikkara river that flows close to her home in Elavoor. Devananda, also known as Ponnu, was a student of class 1 at Saraswathi Vidya Nikethan School in Kollam.
After preliminary inquest, the body was taken to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for post-mortem.
"The medical team which conducted the post-mortem said the death was due to drowning. It also said the death occurred at least 18-20 hours before the body was taken for postmortem. That means she might have drowned within an hour of going missing," an investigating officer told PTI.
Mud and water were, reportedly, found in Devananda's lungs and stomach, and nothing unusual was found in the examination of her internal organs, police said. There were no signs of assault, too.
The Kerala police had on Thursday launched a massive search operation for the minor who was reported missing since 11am on Thursday.
She went missing when her mother went behind the house to wash clothes.
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has taken self-cognisance of the matter.
Later in the evening, Devananda's body was laid to rest at her father's ancestral home. Thousands paid tearful adieu to the child, when her remains were brought to the school where she studied.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his condolences over the child's death.
Police had initiated massive vehicle search and social media posts about the missing child went viral in just hours, with even celebrities sharing the post.
Though the postmortem report indicated no injury marks on her body, police have initiated a probe to find out how she had reached the river area, which is over 100m from her house.
(With PTI inputs)
