Five-year-old girl, sleeping at home, found dead in a well in Ramanathapuram

A five-year-old girl, who went missing while sleeping at her grandmother’s house in Ramanathapuram, was found dead in her neighbour’s well on Sunday morning.

The deceased, identified as the daughter of Karthikai Selvi and Balaganesh of Madurai, had accompanied her mother and younger sister to her maternal grandparents’ house in MSK Nagar in Ramanathapuram a few days ago. His family members, including Karthikai Selvi, his two daughters, his younger brother, his wife and other relatives, were sleeping at home on Saturday night. At around 5.30 am on Sunday, Karthikai Selvi woke up and saw that her elder daughter, who was sleeping next to her, was missing.

The family searched the house, relatives’ houses and the surrounding area, but could not find any trace of the child. Karthikai Selvi later filed a complaint with the Ramanathapuram Bazaar police. While the police started working with Fire and Rescue Services personnel, the child’s body was found in the neighbor’s well. The body was recovered and sent to Ramanathapuram Government Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.

Police said the circumstances surrounding the death aroused suspicion because the well was quite high, making it difficult to determine how the woman might have fallen into the well. Bazaar police detected a suspicious death case and launched an investigation.

The grieving family refused to accept the child’s body after the autopsy and demanded a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of death.