Body of child who died after falling from auto exhumed for inquest

Puttur: It is learnt that the police have registered Suo Moto case relating to the death of a three-year-old female child who lost her life after falling down from a moving auto rickshaw at Mogappe within Koltige village in the taluk. Presently, the police have exhumed the buried mortal remains of the child on Friday and conducted inquest procedure.

The death in question had occurred around two weeks back.

Incidnet synopsis

The child is identified as Devika (3), daughter of Kushalapa Gowda and Prema couple from Barike in Koltige village in the taluk had lost her life in the incident. Prema had taken Devaki  and the daughter of her sister  on September 1 to a clinic at Bellare since the child was suffering from fever. However, when returning after obtaining medicines for the child in an auto rickshaw, tragedy struck at Mogappe.

The child was sitting on the side seat of the auto rickshaw and accidentally fell out of the auto and sustained injuries. The critically injured child was taken to a hospital at Bellare for treatment in the same auto rickshaw. However by the then the child had breathed her last. Since the parents of the child felt that the auto rickshaw driver was not to blame for the incident, and also in view of it being an accident, they did not file any complaint and only the informed the police about the incident.

Following the media publicity the incident gained, the district superintendent of police instructed the Bellare police to follow procedure and accordingly, the police therefore conducted inquest of the body and began to probe the entire incident.

Bellare police sub-inspector Erayya, led a team of police who removed the body in the presence of the girl’s parents and performed inquest on the spot. Puttur taluk magistrate and tahsildar Anantha Shankar, officer of the taluk office Nagesh, Koltige village accountant Shabbir, and others were present. Doctors from Deralakatte performed post-mortem after which the body was buried back at the same spot.

Apparently, the cops also obtained statements from the auto rickshaw driver and parents of the deceased girl and during the process, the police concluded that  it was not a purposeful incident. A case of unnatural death was registered and investigation will be conducted further, informed the cops.